title: Arsenic exposure disrupts neurite growth and complexity in vitro.
abstract: Arsenic has neurotoxic effects on both central and peripheral components of the mature nervous system. There is increasing evidence that exposure to arsenic is also toxic to the developing nervous system and can result in decreased cell division and increased apoptosis in cultured developing neurons. However, the effects of arsenic on subsequent neuron growth and morphology remain unclear. In the present study we used differentiating PC12 cells to investigate the effects of sodium arsenite on the early stages of neurite production and growth. We find that arsenic has concentration- and time-dependent effects on initial neurite outgrowth in vitro. Exposure to low micromolar levels of sodium arsenite for five days results in reduced neurite production, outgrowth and complexity in newly differentiating PC12 cells. Furthermore, we find that exposure of more mature PC12 cells to arsenite can inhibit further neurite development. These results suggest that exposure to arsenic can disrupt early stages of neuron differentiation by altering the normal progression of morphological development and could potentially contribute to compromised long term functioning of neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, University of Southern Maine, 96 Falmouth Street, Portland, ME 04103, United States.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frankel
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Concannon
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brusky
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pietrowicz
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giorgianni
authors.forename: W Douglas
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Currie
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001149:Arsenates / Q000633:toxicity*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D016501:Neurites / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D016716:PC12 Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001149:Arsenates; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; C009277:sodium arsenate