Mouse Fetal Brain Neurogenesis and Apoptosis Under Folate and Choline Diets

A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by Steven H. Zeisel measured mitosis and apoptosis rates in fetal mouse brains under different maternal diets. The data likely contains quantified results, such as a 47% reduction in mitosis in the septum and a near doubling of apoptosis in the hippocampus under folate deficiency. Choline supplementation was shown to reverse some, but not all, of these effects.

Use Cases

• Modeling the relationship between maternal folate intake and fetal neural progenitor cell mitosis based on quantified rates in brain regions.
• Analyzing the mitigating effect of choline supplementation on apoptosis rates in the fetal hippocampus and septum.
• Comparing the sensitivity of different fetal forebrain regions (septum, hippocampus, striatum, neocortex) to dietary deficiencies.

Strengths

• Study design includes control, folate-deficient, and folate-deficient choline-supplemented diet groups for comparison.
• Results include specific, statistically significant percentage changes (e.g., 47%, 29%, 34%) in mitosis rates across multiple brain regions.
• Analysis covers two key developmental processes: neurogenesis (mitosis) and apoptosis.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is from a single animal model (mouse), limiting direct extrapolation to other species.

Provenance

Source

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Collection Method

Experimental study with timed-pregnant mice fed specific AIN-76 diets from embryonic day 11 to 17, with fetal brain collection and analysis on E17.