title: Long-term nicotine exposure reduces Purkinje cell number in the adult rat cerebellar vermis.
abstract: Nicotine affects functions of the central nervous system. A previous study showed that developing cerebellar Purkinje cells are targets for early postnatal nicotine exposure. In this study, we assessed the effects of long-term nicotine exposure on mature cerebellar Purkinje cells. This is particularly relevant since the majority of smokers are exposed to nicotine over a long period. Female adult Sprague-Dawley rats received three doses of nicotine (0.01%, 0.03%, or 0.06%) through their sole water source. After 8 weeks of nicotine exposure, the cerebellar vermis was removed and processed for stereological cell counting. The results showed that this long-term nicotine treatment did not change the cerebellum weight or the size (volume) of the cerebellar vermis. The long-term nicotine treatment regimen did result in a significant loss of mature Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, however, such a loss of Purkinje cells was not nicotine dose-related. These findings indicated that the mature adult cerebellum is susceptible to the damaging effects of nicotine in depleting Purkinje cells in the cerebellum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Medical Neurobiology, College of Medicine, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, 240 Reynolds Medical Building, College Station, TX 77843-1114, USA. wjchen@tamu.edu
authors.forename: Wei-Jung A
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Russell B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Roland D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Parnell
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Monk
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002452:Cell Count; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D009538:Nicotine / Q000633:toxicity*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine