2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Neurobehavioral changes in mice exposed to low-level mercury vapor and/or methylmercury during postnatal development.
| Project/Area Number |
18K10029
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Review Section |
Basic Section 58020:Hygiene and public health-related: including laboratory approach
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Tokyo Junshin University (2020-2021)
八戸学院大学 (2018-2019) |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
佐藤 雅彦 愛知学院大学, 薬学部, 教授 (20256390)
李 辰竜 愛知学院大学, 薬学部, 准教授 (80581280)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
|
| Keywords | 水銀蒸気 / メチル水銀 / 複合水銀曝露 / 神経行動機能 / マウス / マイクロアレイ / 遺伝子発現 / 成長期 |
|---|
| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
This study examined the neurobehavioral changes and alterations in gene expression in the brains of female mice exposed to low-level mercury vapor and/or methylmercury during postnatal development. The mice were exposed to Hg0 at a mean concentration of 0.094 mg/m3 supplied with tap water containing 5 ppm MeHg from day 11 to 12-week delivery. When their offspring reached the age of 17 weeks, behavioral analyses were performed. Total locomotive activity in the open field test and the retention trail in the passive avoidance test only in the combined exposure group was significantly changed than in the control group. In microarray analysis in the brain of the combined exposure group, the gene expressions of Ano2 and Sgk1 were decreased. They play crucial roles in the brain as calcium activated chloride channel and the kinase responding to cellular stress, respectively. These results provide useful information to elucidate the neurobehavioral changes in the combined exposure group.
|
| Free Research Field |
環境中毒学
|
| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
発展途上国における小規模金鉱山周辺の住民は大気からの水銀蒸気（Hg0）曝露に加えて、魚介類や穀物からのメチル水銀（MeHg）曝露が深刻な問題となっている。とくに高い感受性をもつ小児の健康影響が国際的に問題視されている。本研究結果は発育・発達期における低濃度のHg0とMeHgによる複合曝露がそれぞれの単独曝露に比べ、神経行動機能に及ぼす影響が大きいことが明らかとなった。しかも脳内発現変動遺伝子の解析から神経疾患関連遺伝子の変動が確認された。研究結果は小規模金採掘鉱山周辺に居住する幼児・小児に対する環境からのHg0と食事からのMeHgによる複合水銀曝露に対し警鐘を鳴らすものである。
|
