Effect of Postnatal Lead Exposure on the Male Rats Cerebellum: Histological and Behavioral Evaluation

Authors

  • Maryam Bazrgar1 1- Dept. of General of Physiology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran.
  • Iran Goudarzi2 2- Dept. of General of Physiology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran.
  • Taghi Lashkarbolouki2
  • Mahmoud Elahdadi Salmani2
  • Kataneh Abrari2

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22100/jkh.v9i4.338

Keywords:

Lead acetate, Purkinje cell, Postnatal development, Rats

Abstract

Introduction: Acute or chronic lead poisoning in animals and humans is well documented. Moreover developing brain appears to be especially vulnerable to lead neurotoxicity, and the cerebellum has been described as a favorable target for lead poisoning. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of neonatal lead exposure (postnatal period of cerebellar development) on the motor behavior and cerebellar cortex in male rats.

Methods: In this study, new born male rats were randomly divided into two groups: Control (n=10) and lead exposure groups (n=10). Rat pups in lead exposure group received 8 mg/kg lead acetate intraperitoneally daily for 21 days. Behavioral studies including rotarod and open field tests were performed in postnatal days 31–33 (PD) and histological study was performed after completion of behavioral measurements in postnatal day 33.

Results: Result of the present work indicated that lead could impair rotarod performance in sessions 1, 2 (P<0.01) and in sessions 4, 6 (P<0.05). Also, open field test demonstrated that number of crossing and rearing significantly decreased in lead exposure group as compared to control group (P<0.05). Histological analysis also indicated that number of purkinje cells significantly reduced in lead treated group as compared to control group (P=0.001).

Conclusion: These results suggested that chronic postnatal lead exposure had toxic effect on the cerebellum and can induce dysfunctions in motor and exploratory behaviors.

Author Biography

  • Maryam Bazrgar1, 1- Dept. of General of Physiology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran.
    گروه فيزيولوژي- استاديار

References

Pande M, Flora SJ. Lead induced oxidative damage and its response to combined administration of alpha-lipoic acid and succimers in rats. Toxicology 2002;177(2-3):187-196.

Goyer RA. Lead toxicity: current concerns. Environ Health Persp 1993;100:177-187.

Aggarwal HK, Yashodara BM, Nand N, Sonia, Chakrabarti D, Bharti K. Spectrum of renal disorders in a tertiary care hospital in Haryana. The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2007;55:198-202.

AntonioMT, Leret ML. Study of the neurochemical alterations produced in discrete brain areas by perinatal low-level lead exposure. Life Sci 2000;67(6):635-642.

Anwer J, Ali S, Mehrotra NK. Antagonistic effect of zinc in lead treated developing chick embryos. Drug Chem Toxicol 1988;11(1):85-95.

Burger J, Gochfeld M. Effects of lead on learning in herring gulls: an avian wildlife model for neurobehavioral deficits. Neurotoxicology 2005;26(4):615-624.

Dearth RK, Hiney JK, Srivastava V, Burdick SB, Bratton GR, Dees WL. Effects of lead (Pb) exposure during gestation and lactation on female pubertal development in the rat. Reprod Toxicol 2002;16(4):343-352.

Johnston MV, Goldstein GW. Selective vulnerability of the developing brain to lead. Curr Opin Neurol 1998;11(6):689-693.

Fraser S, Muckle G, Despres C. The relationship between lead exposure, motor function and behaviour in Inuit preschool children. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2006;28(1):18-27.

al-Saleh IA. The biochemical and clinical consequences of lead poisoning. Medicinal Research Reviews 1994;14(4):415-486.

Goyer RA. Lead toxicity: from overt to subclinical to subtle health effects. Environ Health Persp 1990;86:177-181.

Moreira EG, Rosa GJ, Barros SB, Vassilieff VS, Vassillieff I. Antioxidant defense in rat brain regions after developmental lead exposure. Toxicology 2001;169(2):145-151.

Needleman HL, Gatsonis CA. Low-levellead exposure and the IQ of children. A meta-analysis of modern studies. JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association 1990;263(5):673-678.

Lockitch G. Perspectives on lead toxicity. Clin Biochem 1993;26(5):371-381.

Correa M, Roig-Navarro AF, Aragon CM. Motor behavior and brain enzymatic changes after acute lead intoxication on different strains of mice. Life Sci 2004;74(16):2009-2021.

Antonio MT, Lopez N, Leret ML. Pb and Cd poisoning during development alters cerebellar and striatal function in rats. Toxicology 2002;176(1-2):59-66.

Press MF. Neuronal development in the cerebellum of lead poisoned neonatal rats. Acta Neuropathol 1977;40(3):259-268.

Alfano DP, Petit TL. Behavioral effects of postnatal lead exposure: possible relationship to hippocampal dysfunction. Behavioral and Neural Biology 1981;32(3):319-333.

Costa AC, Walsh K, Davisson MT. Motor dysfunction in a mouse model for Down syndrome. Physiol Behav 1999;68(1-2):211-220.

Bickford P, Heron C, Young DA, Gerhardt GA, De La Garza R. Impaired acquisition of novel locomotor tasks in aged and norepinephrine-depleted F344 rats. Neurobiol Aging 1992;13(4):475-481.

Munoz C, Garbe K, Lilienthal H, Winneke G. Persistence of retention deficit in rats after neonatal lead exposure. Neurotoxicology 1986;7(2):569-580.

Taylor DH, Noland EA, Brubaker CM, Crofton KM, Bull RJ. Low level lead (Pb) exposure produces learning deficits in young rat pups. Neurobehavioral Toxicology and Teratology 1982;4(3):311-314.

Dietrich KN, Krafft KM, Bornschein RL, Hammond PB, Berger O, Succop PA, et al. Low-level fetal lead exposure effect on neurobehavioral development in early infancy. Pediatrics 1987;80(5):721-730.

Bull RJ, McCauley PT, Taylor DH, Croften KM. The effects of lead on the developing central nervous system of the rat. Neurotoxicology 1983;4(1):1-17.

Gross-Selbeck E, Gross-Selbeck M. Changes in operant behavior of rats exposed to lead at the accepted no-effect level. Clin Toxicol 1981;18(11):1247-1256.

Cory-Slechta DA, Thompson T. Behavioral toxicity of chronic postweaning lead exposure in the rat. Toxicol Appl Pharm 1979;47(1):151-159.

Macauley SL, Sidman RL, Schuchman EH, Taksir T, Stewart GR. Neuropathology of the acid sphingomyelinase knockout mouse model of niemann-pick a disease including structure-function studies associated with cerebellar Purkinje cell degeneration. Exp Neurol 2008;214(2):181-192.

Villeda-Hernandez J, Mendez Armenta M, Barroso-Moguel R, Trejo-Solis MC, Guevara J, Rios C. Morphometric analysis of brain lesions in rat fetuses prenatally exposed to low-level lead acetate: correlation with lipid peroxidation. Histol Histopathol 2006;21(6):609-617.

Sidhu P, Nehru B. Lead intoxication: Histological and oxidative damage in rat cerebrum and cerebellum. The Journal of Trace Elements in Experimental Medicine 2004;17(1):45-53.

Ivry R. Cerebellar timing systems. Int Rev Neurobiol 1997;41:555-573.

Bortolozzi AA, Duffard RO, Evangelista de Duffard AM. Behavioral alterations induced in rats by a pre- and postnatal exposure to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Neurotoxicol Teratol 1999;21(4):451-465.

Carneiro LM, Diogenes JP, Vasconcelos SM, Aragao GF, Noronha EC, Gomes PB, et al. Behavioral and neurochemical effects on rat offspring after prenatal exposure to ethanol. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2005;27(4):585-592.

McClean J, Nunez JL. 17 alpha-estradiol is neuroprotective in male and female rats in a model of early brain injury. Exp Neurol 2008;210(1):41-50.

Xu SZ, Bullock L, Shan CJ, Cornelius K, Rajanna B. PKC isoforms were reduced by lead in the developing rat brain. Int J Dev Neurosci: The Official Journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience 2005;23(1):53-64.

Zion C, Auvray N, Caston J, Reber A, Stelz T. Effects of cerebellectomy at day 15 on the ontogenesis of the equilibrium behavior in the rat. Brain Res 1990;515(1-2):104-110.

Luthman J, Oskarsson A, Olson L, Hoffer B. Postnatal lead exposure affects motor skills and exploratory behavior in rats. Environ Res 1992;58(2):236-252.

Bhattacharya A, Shukla R, Bornschein RL, Dietrich KN, Keith R. Lead effects on postural balance of children. Environ health persp. 1990;89:35-42.

Bhattacharya A, Shukla R, Dietrich KN, Bornschein RL. Effect of early lead exposure on the maturation of children's postural balance: alongitudinal study. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2006;28(3):376-385.

Muller YM, Rivero LB, Carvalho MC, Kobus K, Farina M, Nazari EM. Behavioral impairments related to lead-induced developmental neurotoxicity in chicks. Arch Toxicol 2008;82(7):445-451.

Ogura H, Mikami T, Takamura N, Suzuki Y, Chiba T. Development of behavioral function of cerebellar hypoplasia rats as induced by cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) (author's transl). Nihon yakurigaku zasshi. Folia Pharmacologica Japonica 1980;76(1):33-44.

Published

2014-09-21

Issue

Section

Original Article(s)

How to Cite

Effect of Postnatal Lead Exposure on the Male Rats Cerebellum: Histological and Behavioral Evaluation. (2014). Knowledge and Health in Basic Medical Sciences, 9(4), Page:17-23. https://doi.org/10.22100/jkh.v9i4.338

Most read articles by the same author(s)