Low arsenic concentrations impair memory in rat offpring exposed during pregnancy and lactation: Role of α7 nicotinic receptor, glutamate and oxidative stress

MÓNACO, NINA MARÍA; BARTOS, MARIANA; DOMINGUEZ, SERGIO; GALLEGOS, CRISTINA; BRAS, CRISTINA; ESANDI, MARÍA DEL CARMEN; BOUZAT, CECILIA; GIANNUZZI, LEDA; MINETTI, ALEJANDRA; GUMILAR, FERNANDA

NEUROTOXICOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2018 vol. 67 p. 37 - 45

0161-813X

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is an important natural pollutant. Millions of individuals worldwide drink waterwith high levels of iAs. Arsenic exposure has been associated to cognitive deficits. However, theunderlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present work we investigated in female adult offspringthe effect of the exposure to low arsenite sodium levels through drinking water during pregnancy andlactation on short- and long-term memory. We also considered a possible underlying neurotoxicmechanism. Pregnant rats were exposed during pregnancy and lactation to environmentally relevant iAsconcentrations (0.05 and 0.10 mg/L). In 90-day-old female offspring, short-term memory (STM) and longterm memory (LTM) were evaluated using a step-down inhibitory avoidance task. In addition, weevaluated the a7 nicotinic receptor (a7-nAChR) expression, the transaminases and the oxidative stresslevels in hippocampus. The results showed that the exposure to 0.10 mg/L iAs in this critical periodproduced a significant impairment in the LTM retention. This behavioral alteration might be associatedwith several events that occur in the hippocampus: decrease in a7-nAChR expression, an increase ofglutamate levels that may produce excitotoxicity, and a decrease in the antioxidant enzyme catalase(CAT) activity