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Updated: May 20, 2026
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
[Effects of early postnatal exposure to dieldrin on synaptic development of striatum in mice]
1Department of Toxicology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Objective:
To investigate the effects of early postnatal exposure to dieldrin on striatum synaptic development in lactation, adolescence and adulthood of mice.
Methods:
The pups were divided into 5 groups randomly. Three groups were exposed to dieldrin (0.01% DMSO solution) at doses of 0.2, 2.0 and 20.0 microg/kg and two control groups were exposed to DMSO or saline by intraperitoneal injection of every other day from postnatal days (PND) 3 to PND13. The striatum were isolated from brain in lactation (PND14), adolescence (PND36) and adulthood (PND98). Western blot assay was used to detect the expression levels of striatal synaptic proteins.
Results:
The postnatal exposure to dieldrin could reduce the level of growth associated protein (GAP43) of striatum in lactation in a dose-dependent manner. In adolescence, the level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in striatum increased and the levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), GAP43 and post-synaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) decreased with exposure doses. The level of Synapsin I decreased in adolescence male mice. The changes of expression levels of GFAP, TH and PSD95 proteins lasted to adulthood.
Conclusion:
Early postnatal exposure to dieldrin could affect the expression level of GAP43 protein in striatum. The expression levels of TH and PSD95 proteins in striatum decreased in adolescence and adulthood. These results indicated that the early postnatal exposure to dieldrin may persistently interfere in the striatal synaptic development.
