Developmental Neurotoxicity of Arsenic: Involvement of Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Functions

• Published in: Biological trace element research Vol. 186; no. 1; pp. 185 - 198
• Main Authors: Chandravanshi, Lalit P., Gupta, Richa, Shukla, Rajendra K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Arsenic; Arsenic - administration & dosage; Arsenic - toxicity; Arsenite; BAX protein; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Body weight; Brain; Brain - drug effects; Brain - pathology; Caspase; Caspase-3; Corpus striatum; Cortex (frontal); Exposure; Female; females; frontal lobe; Health risks; hippocampus; Life Sciences; Male; Membrane potential; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial - drug effects; Mitochondria; Mitochondria - drug effects; Mitochondria - metabolism; mitochondrial membrane; Neostriatum; neurons; Neurons - drug effects; Neurotoxicity; Nutrition; Oncology; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Perinatal exposure; Pregnancy; Proteins; Rats; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Regions; Rodents; Sodium; Sodium arsenite; Oxidative stress; Mitochondria; Developmental neurotoxicity; Arsenic; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0163-4984; 1559-0720; 1559-0720
• DOI: 10.1007/s12011-018-1286-1

Over the last decade, there has been an increased concern about the health risks from exposure to arsenic at low doses, because of their neurotoxic effects on the developing brain. The exact mechanism underlying arsenic-induced neurotoxicity during sensitive periods of brain development remains unclear, although enhanced oxidative stresses, leading to mitochondrial dysfunctions might be involved. Here, we highlight the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress which leads to mitochondrial dysfunctions and apoptosis in arsenic-induced developmental neurotoxicity. Here, the administration of sodium arsenite at doses of 2 or 4 mg/kg body weight in female rats from gestational to lactational (GD6-PD21) resulted to increased ROS, led to oxidative stress, and increased the apoptosis in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, and corpus striatum of developing rats on PD22, compared to controls. Enhanced levels of ROS were associated with decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and the activity of mitochondrial complexes, and hampered antioxidant levels. Further, neuronal apoptosis, as measured by changes in the expression of pro-apoptotic (Bax, Caspase-3), anti-apoptotic (Bcl2), and stress marker proteins (p-p38, pJNK) in arsenic-exposed rats, was discussed. The severities of changes were found to more persist in the corpus striatum than in other brain regions of arsenic-exposed rats even after the withdrawal of exposure on PD45 as compared to controls. Therefore, our results indicate that perinatal arsenic exposure leads to abrupt changes in ROS, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial functions and that apoptotic factor in different brain regions of rats might contribute to this arsenic-induced developmental neurotoxicity.