SELECTIVE TOXICITY OF CHRONIC LEAD INGESTION TO CENTRAL CATECHOLAMINERGIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IN RATS

The selective toxicity of lead was tested in central catecholaminergic nervous system of postnatally lead exposed rats. Three groups of animals were prepared; 1) rats exposed to low dose of lead (0.05%PbAc); 2) rats exposed to high dose of lead(0.2%PbAc); 3) age-matched normal control rats. At2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age brain and body weight gain, and lead concentrations in brain tissues were measured. At the same ages tyrosine hydroxylase and Na-K ATPase activities were measured in the 4 brain areas of each animal. Body weight gain was decreased after 6 weeks of age in rats exposed to high dose of lead. Concentrations of lead in whole brain tissues were increased from 0.37 to 0.83 (ng/mg wet tissue) in these animals. in lead exposed rats, tyrosine hydroxylase activities were higher but Na-K ATPase activities were lower than those of age-matched control animals. Brain areas where tyrosine hydroxylase activities were detected without concomitant changes of Na-K ATPase activities were pons-medulla (2 weeks of age) and telencephalon (6 weeks of age) in rats exposed to low dose of lead, and those in rats exposed to high dose of lead were midbrain (4 and 6 weeks of age). These data indicate that catecholaminergic nervous system in the brain areas described above could selectively be affected by lead.