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Because brain damage caused by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) originates during the fetal period,it is difficult to improve the nervous system prognosis postnatally.Therefore,it is important to develop effective antenatal preventative measures to protect IUGR fetal brains from damage.Taurine is one of the most abundant free amino acids in the mammalian central nervous system,and is involved in a variety of biological processes,including inhibition of excitatory neurotransmitters,apoptosis,cell volume regulation,neuromodulation,protein stabilization,and immunomodulation via formation of taurine chloramine.Thus,taurine is essential for the survival,development,and differentiation of neural cells.The aims of this study were to elucidate the influence of antenatal taurine supplementation on the expression of key signaling molecules in the Rho-ROCK-PCNA pathway in fetal rat brain with IUGR,and to determine whether taurine can improve neuron regeneration through this signaling pathway.Thirty pregnant rats were randomly divided into three groups: control,IUGR model (model),and IUGR + antenatal taurine supplements (taurine).Taurine was added to the diet of the taurine group rats at a dose of 300 mg/kg per day from 12 days after conception until natural delivery.The mRNA expression levels of Ras homolog gene A (RhoA),Rho-associated coiled coil-forming protein kinase 2 (ROCK2),and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were detected by real time-PCR.The PCNA positive cell counts were detected by immunohistochemistry.The data were analyzed using SPSS v16.0 software.Results showed that the mRNA expression levels in the model,taurine,and control groups,respectively,were: 2.678 (1.456-4.925),1.589 (0.77-3.281),and 0.000 (0.585-1.710) (P < 0.05) for RhoA; 2.141 (1.522-2.864),1.487 (1.187-1.862),and 1.000 (0.773-1.293) (P < 0.05) for ROCK2; and 1.710 (1.08-2.708),3.265 (2.120-5.028),and 1.000 (0.638-1.567) (P < 0.05) for PCNA.The PCNA positive cell counts were (11.3 ± 3.18) in the control,(22.24 + 6.17) in the IUGR model,and (77.8 ± 14.6) (P < 0.05) in the taurine groups.These data indicate that antenatal supplementation of taurine can inhibit the expression of key signaling molecules in the Rho-ROCK pathway,and can improve the expression of PCNA in IUGR fetal brain,providing further evidence for the application of antenatal taurine to improve IUGR fetal brain development.