Effect of Maternal Protein Deprivation on Morphological and Enzymatic Development of Neonatal Rat Tissue

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Abstract
Tissues of neonatal young of female rats maintained throughout pregnancy on diets containing either 6% or 30% casein as the sole source of protein were studied to determine the effect of maternal protein deprivation on prenatal development. Routine H and E-stained sections were studied for evaluation of morphology, and recognized histochemical procedures were used for the detection of SDH, MDH, LDH, G-6-PDH, DPN and TPN diaphorases, acid and alkaline phosphatases, ATPase, cytochrome and monoamine oxidases, nonspecific esterase, leucine aminopeptidase and γ-glutamyltranspeptidase. Although all young of females fed the low protein ration were reduced in size, only those whose birth weights were less than 4.5 g showed morphological or enzymatic abnormalities. In brain, spinal cord, pancreas, skin and intestine, cellular and enzyme changes were observed. Abnormal enzyme patterns were observed in thyroid, paravertebral ganglia and choroid plexus of low protein young. Liver and brown fat cells of these animals contained reduced enzymatic activity and increased amounts of intracellular fat. Alkaline phosphatase activity appeared to be related to altered cellular maturation in several tissues of low protein neonatal rats.