Effects of arsenic exposure from drinking water on spatial memory, ultra-structures and NMDAR gene expression of hippocampus in rats
Abstract
Epidemiological investigations indicate that chronic arsenic exposure can damage neurobehavioral function in children. The present study was aimed to study the effects of arsenic exposure from drinking water on the spatial memory, and hippocampal ultra-structures and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) gene expression in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to four groups: rats in control group drank regular water, rats in other groups drank water with final arsenic concentration of 2.72 mg/L (group A), 13.6 mg/L (group B) and 68 mg/L (group C), respectively, for 3 months. The levels of arsenic in blood serum and hippocampus were monitored. Rats were tested in Morris water maze (MWM) for memory status. Samples of hippocampus were collected from two rats in each group for transmission electron microscopic study and the detection of NMDAR expression by RT-PCR. The rats in group C showed a significant delay in hidden platform acquisition. Neurons and endothelial cells presented pathological changes and the expression of NR2A was down-regulated in hippocampus in arsenic exposed rats. Our data indicated that arsenic exposure of 68 mg/L caused spatial memory damage, of which the morphological and biochemical bases could be the ultra-structure changes and reduced NR2A expression in hippocampus.
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Arsenic impairs glutamatergic signaling by reducing expression of the NR2A subunit of the NMDA receptor in the hippocampus, a change associated with impaired LTP and deficits in learning and memory.
“Arsenic impairs glutamatergic signaling by reducing expression of the NR2A subunit of the NMDA receptor in the hippocampus, a change associated with impaired LTP and deficits in learning and memory (Luo et al., 2012, 2009; Zsarnovszky et al., 2024).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Luo et al., 2009
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A cross-sectional study of well water arsenic and child IQ in Maine schoolchildren
Wasserman, G. A., Liu, X., LoIacono, N. J., Kline, J., Factor-Litvak, P., van Geen, A., Mey, J. L., Levy, D., Abramson, R., Schwartz, A., et al. (2014) · Environmental Health · doi:10.1186/1476-069x-13-23 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Yang, Y.-W., Liou, S.-H., Hsueh, Y.-M., Lyu, W.-S., Liu, C.-S., Liu, H.-J., Chung, M.-C., Hung, P.-H., & Chung, C.-J. (2018) · Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.taap.2018.07.015 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Jocsak, G., Kiss, D. S., Alymbaeva, D., Diebald, A., Zsarnovszky, A., Heinzlmann, A., & Bartha, T. (2026) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1821381 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Luo, J.-H., Qiu, Z.-Q., Shu, W.-Q., Zhang, Y.-Y., Zhang, L., & Chen, J.-A.
- Affiliations
- Army Medical University (CN)
- Venue
- Toxicology Letters
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-01
- Volume
- 184
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 121-125
- ISSN
- 0378-4274 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2072625073
- Cited by
- 155
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 2.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Toxicology Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Arsenic contamination and mitigation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals
- Keywords
- arsenic exposure, drinking water arsenic, spatial memory, hippocampus, NMDA receptor, hippocampal ultrastructure, neurobehavioral toxicity, chronic arsenicosis, hippocampal neurons
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Hippocampus, Male, Memory, Spatial Behavior, Time Factors, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Gene Expression, Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Sodium Compounds, Arsenites, Maze Learning, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Rats
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