title: Gender-dependent behavioural impairment and brain metabolites in young adult rats after short term exposure to lead acetate.
abstract: We investigated the behavioural effects of short-term lead (Pb) exposure in adult rats producing blood Pb concentration (<10 μg/dL) below those associated with neurological impairment in occupationally exposed individuals. In order to assess gender differences, we performed parallel behavioural experiments in male and female rats. Exposure to Pb acetate (50 mg/L in drinking water) for 30-45 days induced behavioural alterations consisting in hyperactivity in a novel environment and impairment of spatial memory. These effects were observed only in male rats. Object recognition, motor coordination were unaffected by Pb exposure. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy allows in vivo assessment of main brain metabolites (glutamate/glutamine, creatine, myoinositol, N-acetylaspartate and choline) whose changes have been demonstrated in several central nervous system pathologies. Exposure to Pb did not affect metabolite profile in the striatum and increase myoinositol signal in the hippocampus of male rats. The increase in myoinositol in hippocampus suggests early Pb-induced alteration in glial metabolism in this brain region and may represent a potential marker of early brain dysfunction during Pb exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Physiology Research Center, School of Medicine, Ahwaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS), Ahwaz, Iran.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Mansouri
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Naghizadeh
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: López-Larrubia
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cauli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D002794:Choline / Q000032:analysis; D003401:Creatine / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D005973:Glutamine / Q000032:analysis; D007294:Inositol / Q000032:analysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D005973:Glutamine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007294:Inositol; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline; C008261:lead acetate