The role of energy substrates in astrocyte calcium activity of rat hippocampus in early postnatal ontogenesis

Abstract

The aim of the investigation was to study the astroglia functional activity in hippocampal slices of the rat at different postnatal development stages by modeling metabolic changes in the brain. Materials and Methods. The study was carried out on hippocampal slices of Wistar rats of three age groups: postnatal days 5–10, 10–20, and more than 20 days of animal postnatal development using a functional calcium imaging method. Results. In early developmental stages, normal astroglial calcium activity was found to require additional energy substrates. Changing the brain metabolic state at low temperature had no significant effect on astrocyte calcium activity in all postnatal periods under study. Conclusion. The study of astrocyte calcium dynamics in different periods of postnatal development can be used as a method to assess functional activity of glial systems when modeling brain metabolic disorders.