Figure 2

Maternal LB supplementation regulates several BBB characteristics in the offspring. (i). Intraperitoneally administered Evans blue dye (4 ml/kg, 2% [w/v]) in saline appeared significantly higher in the homogenized brains following the injection of IL-1β compared to the control group administered with saline only at two weeks of age (n = 8–9, p < 0.05) (a), but not at four weeks of age (n = 7–8) (b). Increased BBB permeability in two weeks old IL-1β-treated offspring was prevented by maternal LB treatment (n = 7–8, p < 0.05). (ii) Maternal LB supplementation promoted Occludin gene expression and prevented IL-1β-induced decreased Occludin expression in the two-week old offspring. Transcripts of Occludin (Ocln) (n = 4, (a) and Claudin-5 (Cldn5) (n = 4–5, (b) were evaluated by RT-PCR in the cerebral cortex of the two weeks old offspring in both the maternally un-supplemented and supplemented groups after four hours of saline or postnatal IL-1β injection. (iii) Maternal exposure of LB blocked IL-1β-induced expression of markers for vascular injury, leukocyte recruitment, and ECM integrity. Transcripts of Icam1 (n = 5, (a), F11r (n = 5, (b) and Timp1 (n = 5, (c) were evaluated by RT-PCR in the cerebral cortex of the two weeks old offspring in both the maternally un-supplemented and supplemented groups after four hours of saline or postnatal IL-1β injection. For (ii) and (iii), data were normalized to Gapdh gene expression and presented as mean ± SEM. For (i), (ii), and (iii), Bars with ⎴ denote significant difference between experimental groups (at least p < 0.05).