A decrease of cell proliferation by hypothermia in the hippocampus of the neonatal rat

Hypothermia is a potential therapy for cerebral hypoxic ischemic injury of not only adults but also neonates. However, the side effects of hypothermia in the developing brain, where a massive amount of neurogenesis occurs, remain unclear. We investigated the proliferation of neural progenitor cells by systemic application of the thymidine analog 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in neonatal rats in a severe hypothermic environment. The rat pups were divided into two groups, a hypothermia group (30 °C: n = 10) and a normothermia group (37 °C: n = 10). After the pups were placed for 21 h in each environment, 100 mg/kg/day of BrdU was injected intraperitoneally to label dividing cells, and then the pups were sacrificed at 24 h. We examined the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the subventricular zone of the periventricle and the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. In the hypothermic environment, BrdU-labeled cells significantly decreased in number in the dentate gyrus, but not in the periventricular region. Thus, the severe hypothermic environment induced a decrease of neurogenesis in the neonatal rat. These observations are noteworthy regarding clinical hypothermia therapy following cerebral hypoxic ischemic injury during the perinatal period.