Introduction: Early life stress (ELS) plays a role in determining normal physiological functions and predisposing to pathologic processes later in life. Maternal deprivation (MD) is an example of early childhood stress that has been related to long-term behavioral issues due to disturbance in normal brain development. Vitamin B12 is required for the normal functioning and development of the central nervous system.
Aim of the Work: Examine the effect of early MD as a model for ELS on the structure of hippocampus and dentate gyrus of male albino rat offspring at adulthood and evaluate the role of vitamin B12 supplementation after weaning.
Material and Methods: Thirty male albino pups with their respective mothers were assigned into three equal groups; Control group (I); pups were kept with their mothers till weaning, then were separated until adulthood. MD group (II): pups were deprived from their mothers for 24h on postnatal day 9 then kept like the control group until adulthood. MD group supplemented with vitamin B12 (III); The pups underwent MD as described in group II but were kept on 50 μg of vitamin B12/kg of diet. Brain specimens were obtained for different biochemical, histological, and immunohistochemical techniques.
Results: MD group revealed a significant surge in the tissue malonaldehyde with evident histological alterations in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. A significant reduction in Bcl2 immunoexpression was concomitant with a significant rise in GFAP immunoexpression. MD group supplemented with vitamin B12 depicted evident amelioration of the studied parameters.
Conclusion: Early MD altered the structure of hippocampus and dentate gyrus of male rat offspring at adulthood. Healthy infant-mother relationship is recommended to maintain the offspring's mental health. Adjuvant therapy with vitamin B12 could be helpful in ameliorating such negative effects possibly through its antiapoptotic, glial stabilizing effects, and neuroprotective properties.