title: Activation of mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway in tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate-induced delayed neuropathy.
abstract: Previous studies suggest that abnormal neurons death has been implicated in organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN). However, the precise mechanism of neuronal death in OPIDN remains largely unknown. In this study, adult hens were treated with a dosage of 750 mg/kg tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) by gavage, and then sacrificed on the time-points of 1, 5, 10, and 21 days after dosing TOCP, respectively. The apoptotic change of spinal cord neurons induced by TOCP was examined, and the role of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis of neurons during OPIDN was investigated. TUNEL assays showed that apoptotic neurons in hen spinal cords began to appear on day 5 following TOCP exposure. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis revealed a translocation of cytochrome C from mitochondria to cytoplasm after dosing TOCP. Moreover, the level of Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, Pro-caspase3 and Pro-caspase9 in hen spinal cord was significantly decreased, whereas that of Bax and cleaved-PARP was significantly elevated. Taken together, these findings indicate that the administration of TOCP can induce neuron apoptosis in hen spinal cords, which might be mediated by the activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Toxicology, Shandong University, 44 West Wenhua Road, Jinan, Shandong 250012, PR China.
authors.forename: Chaoshuang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Ruirui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Keqin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Fuyong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002645:Chickens; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000009:adverse effects; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects*; D014317:Tritolyl Phosphates / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010755:Organophosphates; D014317:Tritolyl Phosphates; C025541:tri-o-cresyl phosphate