Abstract:

Objective     To investigate activation of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP) in the dentate gyrus of adult mice after chronic arsenic poisoning． Methods     80 healthy adult Kunming mice, weighing 20-22g, were divided into four groups: the normal control group, the low-dose group, the mediumdose group and the high-dose group (10 males and 10 females in each group). Mice in the four groups were respectively fed with distilled water, 1/5 LD50, 1/10 LD50 and 1/40 LD50 AS2O3 for 3 months, and the dosage was adjusted according to changes of weight. Then ability of learning and memory was tested by a Y-maze, and expression of the GFAP protein in the dentate gyrus by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Results     Ability of learning and memory in the high-dose group was significantly lower than that in the normal control group (P<0.05). Immunohistochemical results showed that the number of GFAP-positive cells in the dentate gyrus was significantly more increased in the dose groups compared with the normal control group(P<0.01), and the average optical density was also increased (P<0.01). Western blot results showed the GFAP protein content increased with the dosage increasing (P＜0.01).  Conclusion     Chronic arsenic poisoning might damage ability of learning and memory in mice, which may be related to proliferation of astroeytes and expression of GFAP in the dentate gyrus.

Key words: Arsenic poisoning; Maze learning； Glial fibrillary acidic protein； Blotting, western; Dentate gyrus