[Effects of early life PM2.5 exposure on prefrontal cortex of offspring male rats]
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Published on: July 12, 2024
Xiao-Tian Liang1,2, Chun-Lei Han1, Ben-Cheng Lin2
1School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical College, Yantai 264000.
Insights
Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during early life significantly harms male rat offspring
Area of Science:
- Environmental toxicology
- Neuroscience
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure is a growing environmental concern.
- Early life stages are critical for neurodevelopment and may be particularly vulnerable to environmental insults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of PM2.5 exposure during different early life stages on the prefrontal cortex of offspring rats.
- To compare the effects of maternal pregnancy, early postnatal, and perinatal PM2.5 exposure.
Main Methods:
- Exposure of pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats and their offspring to concentrated PM2.5 or clean air.
- Analysis of offspring prefrontal cortex using HE staining, ELISA, HPLC/MSC, Western blot, and colorimetry.
- Assessment of pathological damage, neuroinflammation, neurotransmitter levels, astrocyte markers, and oxidative stress.
Main Results:
- PM2.5 exposure during perinatal and early postnatal periods caused more pronounced prefrontal cortex damage than maternal exposure.
- Increased neuroinflammation (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α), altered neurotransmitters (decreased MT, trend of decreased OT, increased ACh), and elevated oxidative stress (increased ROS, decreased SOD, CAT) were observed.
- GFAP levels showed an upward trend, indicating astrocyte activation.
Conclusions:
- Early life PM2.5 exposure adversely affects the prefrontal cortex in male rat offspring.
- Exposure during the perinatal period appears to be particularly sensitive, leading to significant neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.
Abstract:
Objective: To investigate the effects of PM2.5 exposure at different stages of early life on the prefrontal cortex of offspring rats. Methods: Twelve pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control group (CG), Maternal pregnancy exposure group (MG), Early postnatal exposure group (EP) and Perinatal period exposure group (PP), 3 rats in each group. The pregnant and offspring rats were exposed to clean air or 8-fold concentrated PM2.5. MG was exposed from gestational day (GD) 1 to GD21. EP was exposed from postnatal day (PND) 1 to PND21, and PP was exposed from GD1 to PND21. After exposure, the prefrontal cortex of 6 offspring rats in each group was analyzed. HE staining was used to observe the pathological damage in the prefrontal cortex. ELISA was employed to detect neuroinflammatory factors, and HPLC/MSC was applied to determine neurotransmitter content. Western blot and colorimetry were applied for detecting astrocyte markers and oxidative stress markers, respectively. Results: Compared with MG and CG, the pathological changes of prefrontal cortex in PP and EP were more obvious. Compared with MG and CG, the neuroinflammatory factors (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α) in PP and EP were increased significantly (P＜0.01), the level of MT were decreased significantly (P＜0.05), and the level of oxytocin (OT) showed a downward trend; the level of neurotransmitter ACh was also increased significantly (P＜0.01). Compared with MG and CG, the GFAP level of PP and EP showed an upward trend, the level of oxidative stress index SOD in PP and EP was decreased significantly (P＜0.01), and the level of ROS was increased significantly (P＜0.01). Compared with the offspring rats of CG and MG, the CAT level of PP was decreased significantly (P＜0.01, P＜0.05). Compared with the offspring rats of CG, the CAT level of EP was decreased significantly (P＜0.05). There was no significant difference in IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, MT, OT, ACh, GFAP, SOD, ROS and CAT levels between PP and EP, or MG and CG. Conclusion: PM2.5 exposure in early life has adverse effects on the prefrontal cortex of offspring male rats, and early birth exposure may be more sensitive.
