![[Feedback]](/icons/banner/feedbackACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[For Subscribers]](/icons/banner/subscriberACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Archive]](/icons/banner/archiveACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Search]](/icons/banner/searchACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Contents]](/icons/banner/tocACT.gif){kind=icon}
|
|
|
|
|
||
* Graduate Program in Nutrition,
Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157 and
** Biobehavioral Health and Pharmacology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: its{at}psu.edu.
Iron deficiency in human infants and in young animal models produces changes in neural functioning that may be related to monoamine metabolism. This study employed both behavioral and biochemical approaches in a design using cross-fostering to examine alterations in dopamine (DA) function when iron deficiency occurs during the neonatal period. We measured brain Fe, dopamine transporters (DAT) and dopamine receptor density in rats made iron deficient, or not, from postnatal day (PND) 4 to PND 14 or 21. Some pups were then weaned to an iron-deficient diet and others to the control diet to examine the reversibility of these effects. Behaviors related to dopamine function were measured. Dopamine D2 receptor (D2R), D1R and iron concentrations were 
70, 80 and 30% of control values, respectively, in the nucleus accumbens and striatum in iron-deficient rats at PND 14. The DAT density was also reduced to 50% of control density in the nucleus accumbens but was unchanged in the striatum. By PND 21, there was also a significant 50% lowering of DAT, D1R and D2R densities in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Iron repletion at PND 21–49 normalized D1R, D2R, and DAT levels in the nucleus accumbens, PFC and ventral midbrain but not in the striatum. In summary, neonatal iron deficiency is associated with changes in DA biology that vary with duration of iron deficiency, and are not completely normalized despite replenishment of iron status. Changes in DA-related behaviors that were persistent after postweaning iron repletion suggest the existence of a critical neonatal developmental period that is expressed by alterations in DA functioning.
KEY WORDS: • dopamine • dopamine receptors • dopamine transporter • iron deficiency • prefrontal cortex • rats
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  I. Cetin, C. Berti, and S. Calabrese Role of micronutrients in the periconceptional period Hum. Reprod. Update, June 30, 2009; (2009) dmp025v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. R. Connor, X.-S. Wang, R. P. Allen, J. L. Beard, J. A. Wiesinger, B. T. Felt, and C. J. Earley Altered dopaminergic profile in the putamen and substantia nigra in restless leg syndrome Brain, May 25, 2009; (2009) awp125v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. J. Collard Iron Homeostasis in the Neonate Pediatrics, April 1, 2009; 123(4): 1208 - 1216. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. L. Unger, J. A. Wiesinger, L. Hao, and J. L. Beard Dopamine D2 Receptor Expression Is Altered by Changes in Cellular Iron Levels in PC12 Cells and Rat Brain Tissue J. Nutr., December 1, 2008; 138(12): 2487 - 2494. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. V. Tran, E. S. Carlson, S. J. B. Fretham, and M. K. Georgieff Early-Life Iron Deficiency Anemia Alters Neurotrophic Factor Expression and Hippocampal Neuron Differentiation in Male Rats J. Nutr., December 1, 2008; 138(12): 2495 - 2501. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. L. Beard Why Iron Deficiency Is Important in Infant Development J. Nutr., December 1, 2008; 138(12): 2534 - 2536. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. W. Pyatskowit and J. R. Prohaska Iron Injection Restores Brain Iron and Hemoglobin Deficits in Perinatal Copper-Deficient Rats J. Nutr., October 1, 2008; 138(10): 1880 - 1886. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. L. Bourque, U. Iqbal, J. N. Reynolds, M. A. Adams, and K. Nakatsu Perinatal Iron Deficiency Affects Locomotor Behavior and Water Maze Performance in Adult Male and Female Rats J. Nutr., May 1, 2008; 138(5): 931 - 937. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. L. Beard, E. L. Unger, L. E. Bianco, T. Paul, S. E. Rundle, and B. C. Jones Early Postnatal Iron Repletion Overcomes Lasting Effects of Gestational Iron Deficiency in Rats J. Nutr., May 1, 2007; 137(5): 1176 - 1182. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. C McCann and B. N Ames An overview of evidence for a causal relation between iron deficiency during development and deficits in cognitive or behavioral function Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, April 1, 2007; 85(4): 931 - 945. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. S. Golub, C. E. Hogrefe, and S. L. Germann Iron Deprivation during Fetal Development Changes the Behavior of Juvenile Rhesus Monkeys J. Nutr., April 1, 2007; 137(4): 979 - 984. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Beard Recent Evidence from Human and Animal Studies Regarding Iron Status and Infant Development J. Nutr., February 1, 2007; 137(2): 524S - 530S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. L. Unger, T. Paul, L. E. Murray-Kolb, B. Felt, B. C. Jones, and J. L. Beard Early Iron Deficiency Alters Sensorimotor Development and Brain Monoamines in Rats J. Nutr., January 1, 2007; 137(1): 118 - 124. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. G. Penland and J. R. Prohaska Abnormal Motor Function Persists Following Recovery from Perinatal Copper Deficiency in Rats J. Nutr., August 1, 2004; 134(8): 1984 - 1988. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Kordas and R. J. Stoltzfus New Evidence of Iron and Zinc Interplay at the Enterocyte and Neural Tissues J. Nutr., June 1, 2004; 134(6): 1295 - 1298. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Rao, I. Tkac, E. L. Townsend, R. Gruetter, and M. K. Georgieff Perinatal Iron Deficiency Alters the Neurochemical Profile of the Developing Rat Hippocampus J. Nutr., October 1, 2003; 133(10): 3215 - 3221. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
