Effects of vitamin B-6 deficiency on morphological changes in dendritic trees of Purkinje cells in developing cerebellum of rats

The effect of maternal vitamin B-6 deficiency on the morphological changes in the dendritic growth of Purkinje cells of progeny was studied at four different ages (12, 15, 21, and 50 days) of postnatal development. By day 10, rat pups in the deficient groups (0.6 or 1.0 mg pyridoxine. HCl/kg diet) began to show gross neurological symptoms of the deficiency and before weaning approximately 12% of the pups in the 0.6 group had died. At each age studied, body weights were less and brain-body weight ratios were greater in the deficient groups compared to control (7.0 mg pyridoxine. HCl/kg diet) groups. Morphological changes of the Purkinje cell dendritic field, as determined from camera lucida drawings of Golgi-Cox impregnated cells of the mid-sagittal vermis, indicated significantly smaller width, height and area in the deficient groups compared to the control. Stereological measurements showed that dendritic branching density was significantly less in the 0.6 group compared with the 1.0 and 7.0 groups. The total length of Purkinje cell dendrites per cell was significantly reduced in the deficient groups compared to the 7.0 group. Qualitative analyses of photomicrographs of Purkinje cells indicated more dendritic and somatic aberrations in the deficient groups than in the control. Dendritic trees were larger in size and more complex in the 7.0 group compared to the deficient groups. The findings indicate that maternal vitamin B-6 deficiency interferes with normal development of the Purkinje cell dendrites.