Title
Olfactory recognition memory is disrupted in young mice with chronic low-level lead exposure
Publication Date
7-2-2015
Publication Name
Toxicology Letters
Document Type
Article
Abstract
© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Chronic developmental lead exposure yielding very low blood lead burden is an unresolved child public health problem. Few studies have attempted to model neurobehavioral changes in young animals following very low level exposure, and studies are needed to identify tests that are sensitive to the neurobehavioral changes that may occur. Mechanisms of action are not yet known however results have suggested that hippocampus/dentate gyrus may be uniquely vulnerable to early chronic low-level lead exposure. This study examined the sensitivity of a novel odor recognition task to differences in pre-adolescent C57BL/6J mice chronically exposed from birth to PND 28, to 0. ppm (control), 30. ppm (low-dose), or 330. ppm (higher-dose) lead acetate (N = 33). Blood lead levels (BLLs) determined by ICP-MS ranged from 0.02 to 20.31. μg/dL. Generalized linear mixed model analyses with litter as a random effect showed a significant interaction of BLL × sex. As BLLs increased olfactory recognition memory decreased in males. Among females, non-linear effects were observed at lower but not higher levels of lead exposure. The novel odor detection task is sensitive to effects associated with early chronic low-level lead exposure in young C57BL/6J mice.
Volume
236
Issue
1
First Page
69
Last Page
74
DOI
10.1016/j.toxlet.2015.04.013