Postnatal Effects of the Ethanol on the Encephalon Mass and Neocortex Architecture in Wistar Rat Offspring Submitted to Acute Prenatal Injection [E12] and in vitro Ethanol Effects on Wistar Rat and Human Erythrocytes

Aims: To verify the ethanol effects of the acute injections in pregnant Wistar rats (E12) on the offspring in P8. Additionally, measures of the brain and corporal masses and the stability of erythrocytes were performed in rats and humans.

Study Design: Histological analysis and a spectrophotometer were used to count neural cells and osmotic fragility in erythrocytes.

Place and Duration of Study: The immunohistochemistry study was partially performed at the Federal University of Uberlândia, and at the University of Toyama-Japan, the experiments on the brain, body masses, and stability of erythrocyte membranes in humans were performed from 2012 to 2014.

Methodology: Eighteen pregnant female rats (180-230g) were housed in cages at 22 ± 0.4°C on a 12 h light/dark cycle with free access to food and water. On the 11th day of pregnancy (E12), 12 rats received three intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of a 20% ethanol solution (3 g of ethanol/kg of body weight) at 8 hours intervals.

Results: The number of neural cells was lower in rats treated with ethanol than to controls to each lobe and total count in all lobes (P = 0.001). Significant alterations of neocortical tissue in ethanol-treated were observed, as the decrease of brain mass (P = 0.05) in linear regression. The stability of erythrocyte membranes was verified with D50 equal to 0.46 g·dL-1 (± 0.05).

Conclusion: According to this work, the ethanol injection in the rats showed marked brain tissue destruction relative to the control, and ethanol’s effects on erythrocytes indicated that membrane destruction could be one of the causes of brain cell disruption in neural migration.