Vulnerability of dopaminergic amacrine cells and optic nerve myelination to prenatal endotoxin exposure

Abstract

PURPOSE. Intrauterine infection has been linked to preterm delivery and neurologic injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fetal inflammation induced by exposure to endotoxin on the structure and neurochemistry of the retina and optic nerve. METHODS. The bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), was administered to fetal sheep at ∼0.65 of the ∼147-day gestation period via repeated bolus doses (1 μg/kg per day) over 5 days, with fetal retinas and optic nerves assessed 10 days after the first LPS exposure. RESULTS. In the retina, the total number of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (TH-IR), dopaminergic amacrine cells was reduced (P 0.05) between groups; ho..