Maternal exposure to hexachlorophene targets intermediate-stage progenitor cells in the hippocampal neurogenesis involving myelin vacuolation of cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs in mice

Aberrant Epigenetic Gene Regulation in GABAergic Interneuron Subpopulations in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus of Mouse Offspring Following Developmental Exposure to Hexachlorophene

Maternal hexachlorophene (HCP) exposure causes transient disruption of hippocampal neurogenesis in mouse offspring. We examined epigenetically hypermethylated and downregulated genes related to this HCP-induced disrupted neurogenesis. Mated female mice were dietary exposed to 0 or 100 ppm HCP from gestational day 6 to postnatal day (PND) 21 on weaning. The hippocampal dentate gyrus of male offspring was subjected to methyl-capture sequencing and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses on PND 21. Validation analyses on methylation identified three genes, Dlx4, Dmrt1, and Plcb4, showing promoter-region hypermethylation. Immunohistochemically, DLX4⁺, DMRT1⁺, and PLCB4⁺ cells in the dentate hilus co-expressed GAD67, a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neuron marker. HCP decreased all of three subpopulations as well as GAD67⁺ cells on PND 21. PLCB4⁺ cells also co-expressed the metabotropic glutamate receptor, GRM1. HCP also decreased transcript level of synaptic plasticity-related genes in the dentate gyrus and immunoreactive granule cells for synaptic plasticity-related ARC. On PND 77, all immunohistochemical cellular density changes were reversed, whereas the transcript expression of the synaptic plasticity-related genes fluctuated. Thus, HCP-exposed offspring transiently reduced the number of GABAergic interneurons. Among them, subpopulations expressing DLX4, DMRT1, or PLCB4 were transiently reduced in number through an epigenetic mechanism. Considering the role of the Dlx gene family in GABAergic interneuron migration and differentiation, the decreased number of DLX4⁺ cells may be responsible for reducing those GABAergic interneurons regulating neurogenesis. The effect on granule cell synaptic plasticity was sustained until the adult stage, and reduced GABAergic interneurons active in GRM1–PLCB4 signaling may be responsible for the suppression on weaning.

Late effect of developmental exposure to glycidol on hippocampal neurogenesis in mice: Loss of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons

Developmental exposure to glycidol of rats causes axonal injury targeting axon terminals in dams and transient disruption of late-stage differentiation of hippocampal neurogenesis, accompanying sustained increase in the number of reelin-producing or calretinin-expressing interneurons in offspring. The molecular mechanism of disruptive neurogenesis probably targets the newly generating nerve terminals. We previously found differences between mice and rats in the effects on hippocampal neurogenesis after developmental exposure to the same neurotoxic substances. In the present study, we examined the effects and underlying mechanisms of developmental exposure to glycidol on hippocampal neurogenesis in mice. Glycidol (800 or 1600ppm) was administered in drinking water to mated female mice from gestational day 6 to postnatal day 21. Compared to mice drinking water without glycidol (control), the exposed dams showed axon terminal injury at both concentrations of glycidol. The offspring of the dams that had received 1600ppm glycidol had fewer parvalbumin (PVALB)⁺ γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic interneurons and neuron-specific nuclear protein⁺ postmitotic neurons in the hilus of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Thus, exposure of glycidol to adult mice induced axonal degeneration equivalent to that seen in the rat; however, the target mechanism for the disruption of hippocampal neurogenesis by developmental exposure was different from that in rats, with the hilar neuronal population not affected until adulthood. Considering the role of PVALB⁺ GABAergic interneurons in the brain, developmental glycidol exposure in mice may cause a decline in cognitive function in later life, and involve a different mechanism from that targeting axon terminals in rats.