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The Effects of Prenatal Protein Restriction on the Developing Mouse Cerebrum¹

Department of Biochemistry, University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H. 03824

Purified low protein maternal diets cause a reduction in total weight and protein content but not in DNA content (cell number) of the cerebrum of newborn mice. Female mice were fed diets in which 8%, 11%, 15%, or 27% (control) was casein as the sole source of protein for 1 or 2 months prior to mating and throughout gestation. A 15% casein diet fed for 1 month had no effect on brain weight, DNA content (cell number) or protein content in the cerebrums of newborn mice. Female mice fed an 8% or 11% protein diet for 1 or 2 months prior to conception and throughout gestation gave birth to young that had a decreased cerebral weight and protein content. However inneither case was the amount of cerebral DNA (cell number) of the newborn from females in the low protein group significantly different from that in the cerebrums of mice born to females on the normal protein diet.

KEY WORDS: • protein-malnutrition • mouse • cerebrum • cell number

¹ These studies were supported in part by New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station funds. H-201. Publication number 882 from the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of new Hampshire.

² From a thesis submitted by Helen Nehrich as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.S. degree from the University of New Hampshire.

Manuscript received 29 July 1977.