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- Title
Acute Sarin Exposure Causes Differential Regulation of Choline Acetyltransferase, Acetylcholinesterase, and Acetylcholine Receptors in the Central Nervous System of the Rat.
- Authors
Khan, Wasiuddin A.; Dechkovskaia, Anjelika M.; Herrick, Elizabeth A.; Jones, Katherine H.; Abou-Donia, Mohamed B.
- Abstract
Acute neurotoxic effects of sarin (O-isopropylmethylphosphonoflouridate) in male Sprague-Dawley rats were studied. The animals were treated with intramuscular (im) injections of either 1 × LD50 (100 μg/kg), and sacrificed at 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 15, or 20 h after treatment, or with im injections of either 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, or 1 × LD50 and sacrificed 15 h after treatment. Plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and brain regional acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were inhibited (45–55%) by 30 min after the LD50 dose. BChE in the plasma and AChE in cortex, brainstem, midbrain, and cerebellum remained inhibited for up to 20 h following a single LD50 treatment. No inhibition in plasma BChE activity was observed 20 h after treatment with doses lower than the LD50 dose. Midbrain and brainstem seem to be most responsive to sarin treatment at lower doses, as these regions exhibited inhibition (∼ 49% and 10%, respectively) in AChE activity following 0.1 × LD50 treatment, after 20 h. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was increased in cortex, brainstem, and midbrain 6 h after LD50 treatment, and the elevated enzyme activity persisted up to 20 h after treatment. Cortex ChAT activity was significantly increased following a 0.1 × LD50 dose, whereas brainstem and midbrain did not show any effect at lower doses. Treatment with an LD50 dose caused a biphasic response in cortical nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (m2-mAChR) ligand binding, using [3H]cytisine and [3H]AFDX-384 as ligands for nAChR and mAChR, respectively. Decreases at 1 and 3 h and consistent increases at 6, 15, and 20 h in nAChR and m2-mAChR were observed following a single LD50 dose. The increase in nAChR ligand binding densities was much more pronounced than in mAChR. These results suggest that a single exposure of sarin, ranging from 0.1 to 1 × LD50, modulates the cholinergic pathways differently and thereby causes dysregulation in excitatory neurotransmission.
- Subjects
SARIN; CHOLINE; ACETYLTRANSFERASES; ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE; NICOTINIC receptors; NEUROTOXICOLOGY; LABORATORY rats
- Publication
Toxicological Sciences, 2000, Vol 57, Issue 1, p112
- ISSN
1096-6080
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/toxsci/57.1.112