Ning Li

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Publications (2)5.41 Total impact

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    Article: Effects of maternal food restriction on physical growth and neurobehavior in newborn Wistar rats.
    Yinguo Zhang, Ning Li, Jiajia Yang, Tao Zhang, Zhuo Yang
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    ABSTRACT: Maternal nutrition plays a critical role in physical growth and neurobehavior of offspring. The aim of this study was to assess the nature of maternal undernutrition on the physical growth and neurobehavior of newborn male and female rat pups. To attain this aim, a model of maternal 50% food restriction (FR50) was induced in Wistar rats. After parturition, the physical growth and neurobehavior were tested in male and female pups. Compared with gender-matched controls, both male and female FR50 pups showed delayed physical growth, such as pinna detachment, hair growth, eruption of incisor teeth and eye opening. Also, they showed a delay of neurobehavior in surface righting reflex and cliff avoidance reflex. In addition, FR50 male pups exhibited a delay in achieving negative geotaxis response compared to normal male pups. These data obtained are useful to provide baseline information about the neurodevelopmental delay of maternal undernutrition of both sexes in rat pups and help to gain a better understanding of undernutrition during human fetal and neonatal periods.
    Brain research bulletin 08/2010; 83(1-2):1-8. · 2.18 Impact Factor
  • Article: Perinatal food restriction impaired spatial learning and memory behavior and decreased the density of nitric oxide synthase neurons in the hippocampus of adult male rat offspring.
    Yinguo Zhang, Ning Li, Zhuo Yang
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    ABSTRACT: Perinatal undernutrition has adverse effects on brain physiology as well as learning and memory activity. However, the mechanism is still incompletely understood. Nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) has important roles in neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity as well as contributes to the learning and memory task. The aims of the present study were to investigate whether 50% perinatal food restriction (FR50) produced deleterious effects on the population of nNOS neurons in CA1 and CA3 and the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus using ABC immunohistochemical method. The results showed FR50 reduced body weight of offspring on postnatal day (PD)1, PD7, PD10, PD14 and PD21, and this type of food restriction impaired learning and memory of adult male offspring rats (postnatal day 70) and decreased the density of nNOS-positive cells in the CA1, CA3 and DG region of the hippocampus. These findings suggest that perinatal undernutrition affects the activity of nNOS in hippocampus. Thus, these changes in the density of nNOS neurons may partly explain learning and memory disturbances commonly observed in undernourished rats and provide clues to the knowledge of malnutrition effects upon the brain.
    Toxicology Letters 03/2010; 193(2):167-72. · 3.23 Impact Factor
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