Maternal Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Rats Impairs Spatial Learning and Memory in Offspring by Disrupting Balance of the TrkA/p75(NTR) Signal Pathway

Maternal subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) during pregnancy can adversely affect the neurodevelopment of the offspring. The balance of nerve growth factor (NGF)-related tropomyosin receptor kinase A/p75 neurotrophin receptor (TrkA/p75(NTR)) signaling in the hippocampus is important in brain development, and whether it affects cognitive function in maternal SCH’s offspring is not clear. In this study, we found that compared with the control (CON) group, expression of proliferation-related proteins [NGF, p-TrkA, phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) and phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein (p-CREB)] decreased in the hippocampus of the offspring in the SCH group, overt hypothyroidism (OHT) group, and the group with levothyroxine (L-T(4)) treatment for SCH from gestational day 17 (E17). In contrast, expression of apoptosis-related proteins [pro-NGF, p75(NTR), phospho-C-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), p53, Bax and cleaved caspase-3] was increased. The two groups with treatment with L-T(4) for SCH from E10 and E13, respectively, showed no significant difference compared with the CON group. L-T(4) treatment enhanced relative expression of NGF by increasing NGF/proNGF ratio in offspring from maternal SCH rats. In conclusion, L-T(4) treatment for SCH from early pregnancy dramatically ameliorated cognitive impairment via TrkA/p75(NTR) signaling, which involved activation of the neuronal proliferation and inhibition of neuronal apoptosis in SCH rats’ offspring.