Effects of sub-chronic exposure to deltamethrin on the behavior of mice in learning and memory and expression of GABAA receptor α1 and γ2 subunits in the hippocampus of mice / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effect of sub-chronic exposure to deltamethrin(DM) on the behavior of mice in learning and memory and expression of GABAA receptor α1 and γ2 subunits in the hippocampus of mice.Methods 60 female SPF Kunming mice were randomly divided into solvent control group,low-dose group,middle-dose group and high-dose group, 15 mice in each group.The latter three groups were exposured to deltamethrin for 60 days by gavage.Open field test (OFT) was applied to evaluate locomotor activity and exploratory behavior in mice.RQ-PCR was employed to measure the expression of GABAA receptor α1 and γ2 subunits in hippocampus of mice.Results After exposure to DM,the moving distance of the central area in the middle-dose group ((555.1 ± 12.8) cm) and high-dose group ((516.4± 11.88) cm) was significantly higher than that in the solvent control group ((327.3± 117.8) cm, P＜0.05).Numbers of standing in marginal area (F=4.117, P=0.010) and total movement distance (F=2.914, P=0.042) in the high-dose group ((27.9±9.9) times, (3211.3±379.8) cm) were also significantly higher than that in the solvent control group ((15.1 ±8.9)times, (3211.3±379.8)cm).The expression of GABAA receptor α1 subunit mRNA in the middle-dose group and high-dose group was significantly lower than that in the low-dose group and solvent control group(F=8.508, P=0.001) and the expression of GABAA receptor γ2 subunit mRNA in high-dose group was significantly lower than that in the other groups (F=6.738, P=0.002).Conclusion Sub-chronic exposure to DM can damage the function of locomotor activity and exploratory behavior,and inhibit the expression of GABAA receptor α1 and γ2 subunits in the hippocampus of mice.