S-adenosyl-L-methionine improves impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation and water maze performance induced by developmental lead exposure in rats.
Lead (Pb(2+)) exposure in children can induce long-lasting deficits in cognitive function and has been modeled in experimental animals. Based on previous studies which demonstrated that S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) is beneficial in the treatment of lead intoxication, here, we asked the question if SAM treatment could rescue the impaired cognition and synaptic plasticity induced by lead. Rats drank 1500 ppm lead acetate (PbAc) solution or distilled water throughout gestation and lactation. After weaning at postnatal day 22, one half of the control and lead-exposed male offspring were intraperitoneally injected 20 mg SAM/kg daily over a period of 20-22 days. Electrophysiological and Morris water maze test were performed at 44-54 days of age. The result showed that the impaired learning ability induced by lead could be improved significantly by SAM. Furthermore, our results revealed that long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory postsynaptic potential and population spike impairments induced by lead were also ameliorated by SAM treatment.
Cao
Xiu-Jing
XJ
School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, PR China.
Huang
Sheng-Hai
SH
Wang
Ming
M
Chen
Ju-Tao
JT
Ruan
Di-Yun
DY
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007774:Lactation; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine; C008261:lead acetate