title: Neurotoxic effect of subacute benzo(a)pyrene exposure on gene and protein expression in Sprague-Dawley rats.
abstract: Benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) is an environmental carcinogen that induces tumors in many animal species, but the neurotoxic effects of B[a]P have not been well studied. In the present study, we investigated the effects of subacute exposure to B[a]P in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Male rats received daily injections of either B[a]P (0, 1, 2.5, or 6.25mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle for 45 days. Exposure to B[a]P affected the behavior of rats in the Morris water maze test. Gene microarray and real-time PCR analyses revealed that exposure to B[a]P affected signal transduction in the rat hippocampus. Protein microarray analysis revealed that altered protein expression played a role in cell death in the functional annotation cluster analysis. Finally, major vault protein was found to display low cDNA and protein expression levels. The present study explored some of the possible mechanisms underlying B[a]P neurotoxicity and provided evidence that B[a]P plays a neurotoxic role in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shu-Qun
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: Kendraxia@yahoo.com.cn.
authors.forename: Yin-Yin
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun-Lin
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue-Qing
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue-Mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu-Bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ying-Xiong
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Chongqing Medical University, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: baijietucqmu@live.cn.
authors.forename: Bai-Jie
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Tu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000633:toxicity*; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental / Q000633:toxicity*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000187:drug effects; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D013997:Time Factors; D020394:Vault Ribonucleoprotein Particles / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000099187:Major Vault Protein
chemical_list: D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D020394:Vault Ribonucleoprotein Particles; D000099187:Major Vault Protein
keywords: Benz[a]pyrene; Hippocampus; Microarray; Rat; Water maze