In vitro models reveal differences in the developmental neurotoxicity of an environmental polycylic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture compared to benzo[a]pyrene: Neuronotypic PC12 Cells and embryonic neural stem cells.

In addition to their carcinogenic activity, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are suspected to be developmental neurotoxicants. We evaluated the effects of PAHs with two in vitro models that assess distinct "decision nodes" in neurodifferentiation: neuronotypic PC12 cells, which characterize the transition from cell replication to neurodifferentiation, neurite outgrowth and neurotransmitter specification; and embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs), which evaluate the origination of neurons and glia from precursors. We compared an environmentally-derived PAH mixture from a Superfund contamination site (Elizabeth River Sediment Extract, ERSE) to those of a single PAH, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). In PC12 cells, BaP impaired the transition from cell replication to neurodifferentiation, resulting in higher numbers of cells, but with reduced cell size and deficits in all indices of neuronal features (neurite formation, development of dopamine and acetylcholine phenotypes). ERSE was far less effective, causing only modest changes in cell numbers and size and no impairment of neurite formation or neurotransmitter specification; in fact, ERSE evoked a slight increase in emergence of the acetylcholine phenotype. In the NSC model, this relationship was entirely reversed, with far greater sensitivity to ERSE than to BaP. Furthermore, ERSE, but not BaP, enhanced NSC differentiation into neurons, whereas both ERSE and BaP suppressed the glial phenotype. Our studies provide a cause-and-effect relationship for the observed association of developmental PAH exposure to behavioral deficits. Further, PAH sensitivity occurs over developmental stages corresponding to rudimentary brain formation through terminal neurodifferentiation, suggesting that vulnerability likely extends throughout fetal brain development and into early childhood.

Is There a Critical Period for the Developmental Neurotoxicity of Low-Level Tobacco Smoke Exposure?

Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure in pregnancy increases the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. We evaluated in rats whether there is a critical period during which tobacco smoke extract (TSE) affects the development of acetylcholine and serotonin systems, prominent targets for adverse effects of nicotine and tobacco smoke. We simulated secondhand smoke exposure by administering TSE so as to produce nicotine concentrations one-tenth those in active smoking, with 3 distinct, 10-day windows: premating, early gestation or late gestation. We conducted longitudinal evaluations in multiple brain regions, starting in early adolescence (postnatal day 30) and continued to full adulthood (day 150). TSE exposure in any of the 3 windows impaired presynaptic cholinergic activity, exacerbated by a decrement in nicotinic cholinergic receptor concentrations. Although the adverse effects were seen for all 3 treatment windows, there was a distinct progression, with lowest sensitivity for premating exposure and higher sensitivity for gestational exposures. Serotonin receptors were also reduced by TSE exposure with the same profile: little effect with premating exposure, intermediate effect with early gestational exposure and large effect with late gestational exposure. As serotonergic circuits can offset the neurobehavioral impact of cholinergic deficits, these receptor changes were maladaptive. Thus, there is no single 'critical period' for effects of low-level tobacco smoke but there is differential sensitivity dependent upon the developmental stage at the time of exposure. Our findings reinforce the need to avoid secondhand smoke exposure not only during pregnancy, but also in the period prior to conception, or generally for women of childbearing age.

Diverse neurotoxicants target the differentiation of embryonic neural stem cells into neuronal and glial phenotypes.

The large number of compounds that needs to be tested for developmental neurotoxicity drives the need to establish in vitro models to evaluate specific neurotoxic endpoints. We used neural stem cells derived from rat neuroepithelium on embryonic day 14 to evaluate the impact of diverse toxicants on their ability to differentiate into glia and neurons: a glucocorticoid (dexamethasone), organophosphate insecticides (chlorpyrifos, diazinon, parathion), insecticides targeting the GABAA receptor (dieldrin, fipronil), heavy metals (Ni2+, Ag+), nicotine and tobacco smoke extract. We found three broad groupings of effects. One diverse set of compounds, dexamethasone, the organophosphate pesticides, Ni2+ and nicotine, suppressed expression of the glial phenotype while having little or no effect on the neuronal phenotype. The second pattern was restricted to the pesticides acting on GABAA receptors. These compounds promoted the glial phenotype and suppressed the neuronal phenotype. Notably, the actions of compounds eliciting either of these differentiation patterns were clearly unrelated to deficits in cell numbers: dexamethasone, dieldrin and fipronil all reduced cell numbers, whereas organophosphates and Ni2+ had no effect. The third pattern, shared by Ag+ and tobacco smoke extract, clearly delineated cytotoxicity, characterized by major cell loss with suppression of differentiation into both glial and neuronal phenotypes; but here again, there was some selectivity in that glia were suppressed more than neurons. Our results, from this survey with diverse compounds, point to convergence of neurotoxicant effects on a specific "decision node" that controls the emergence of neurons and glia from neural stem cells.

Developmental Neurotoxicity of Tobacco Smoke Directed Toward Cholinergic and Serotonergic Systems: More Than Just Nicotine.

Tobacco smoke contains thousands of compounds in addition to nicotine, a known neuroteratogen. We evaluated the developmental neurotoxicity of tobacco smoke extract (TSE) administered to pregnant rats starting preconception and continued through the second postnatal week. We simulated nicotine concentrations encountered with second-hand smoke, an order of magnitude below those seen in active smokers, and compared TSE with an equivalent dose of nicotine alone, and to a 10-fold higher nicotine dose. We conducted longitudinal evaluations in multiple brain regions, starting in adolescence (postnatal day 30) and continued to full adulthood (day 150). TSE exposure impaired presynaptic cholinergic activity, exacerbated by a decrement in nicotinic cholinergic receptor concentrations. Although both nicotine doses produced presynaptic cholinergic deficits, these were partially compensated by hyperinnervation and receptor upregulation, effects that were absent with TSE. TSE also produced deficits in serotonin receptors in females that were not seen with nicotine. Regression analysis showed a profound sex difference in the degree to which nicotine could account for overall TSE effects: whereas the 2 nicotine doses accounted for 36%-46% of TSE effects in males, it accounted for only 7%-13% in females. Our results show that the adverse effects of TSE on neurodevelopment exceed those that can be attributed to just the nicotine present in the mixture, and further, that the sensitivity extends down to levels commensurate with second-hand smoke exposure. Because nicotine itself evoked deficits at low exposures, "harm reduction" nicotine products do not eliminate the potential for neurodevelopmental damage.

Amelioration strategies fail to prevent tobacco smoke effects on neurodifferentiation: Nicotinic receptor blockade, antioxidants, methyl donors.

Tobacco smoke exposure is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. We used neuronotypic PC12 cells to evaluate the mechanisms by which tobacco smoke extract (TSE) affects neurodifferentiation. In undifferentiated cells, TSE impaired DNA synthesis and cell numbers to a much greater extent than nicotine alone; TSE also impaired cell viability to a small extent. In differentiating cells, TSE enhanced cell growth at the expense of cell numbers and promoted emergence of the dopaminergic phenotype. Nicotinic receptor blockade with mecamylamine was ineffective in preventing the adverse effects of TSE and actually enhanced the effect of TSE on the dopamine phenotype. A mixture of antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, N-acetyl-l-cysteine) provided partial protection against cell loss but also promoted loss of the cholinergic phenotype in response to TSE. Notably, the antioxidants themselves altered neurodifferentiation, reducing cell numbers and promoting the cholinergic phenotype at the expense of the dopaminergic phenotype, an effect that was most prominent for N-acetyl-l-cysteine. Treatment with methyl donors (vitamin B12, folic acid, choline) had no protectant effect and actually enhanced the cell loss evoked by TSE; they did have a minor, synergistic interaction with antioxidants protecting against TSE effects on growth. Thus, components of tobacco smoke perturb neurodifferentiation through mechanisms that cannot be attributed to the individual effects of nicotine, oxidative stress or interference with one-carbon metabolism. Consequently, attempted amelioration strategies may be partially effective at best, or, as seen here, can actually aggravate injury by interfering with normal developmental signals and/or by sensitizing cells to TSE effects on neurodifferentiation.

Effects of tobacco smoke on PC12 cell neurodifferentiation are distinct from those of nicotine or benzo[a]pyrene.

Although nicotine accounts for a great deal of the neurodevelopmental damage associated with maternal smoking or second-hand exposure, tobacco smoke contains thousands of potentially neurotoxic compounds. We used PC12 cells, a standard in vitro model of neurodifferentiation, to compare tobacco smoke extract (TSE) to nicotine, matching TSE exposure (with its inherent nicotine content) to parallel concentrations of nicotine, or to benzo[a]pyrene, a tobacco combustion product. TSE promoted the transition from cell replication to differentiation, resulting in fewer, but larger cells with greater neurite extension. TSE also biased differentiation into the dopaminergic versus the cholinergic phenotype, evidenced by an increase in tyrosine hydroxylase activity but not choline acetyltransferase. Nicotine likewise promoted differentiation at the expense of cell numbers, but its effect on growth and neurite extension was smaller than that of TSE; furthermore, nicotine did not promote the dopaminergic phenotype. Benzo[a]pyrene had effects opposite to those of TSE, retarding neurodifferentiation, which resulted in higher cell numbers, smaller cells, reduced neurite information, and impaired emergence of both dopaminergic and cholinergic phenotypes. Our studies show that the complex mixture of compounds in tobacco smoke exerts direct effects on neural cell replication and differentiation that resemble those of nicotine in some ways but not others, and most importantly, that are greater in magnitude than can be accounted for from just the nicotine content of TSE. Thus, fetal tobacco smoke exposure, including lower levels associated with second-hand smoke, could be more injurious than would be anticipated from measured levels of nicotine or its metabolites.

Nicotine administration in adolescence reprograms the subsequent response to nicotine treatment and withdrawal in adulthood: sex-selective effects on cerebrocortical serotonergic function.

Nicotine exposure in adolescence produces lasting changes in subsequent behavioral responses to addictive agents. We gave nicotine to adolescent rats (postnatal days PN30-47), simulating plasma levels in smokers, and then examined the subsequent effects of nicotine given again in adulthood (PN90-107), focusing on cerebrocortical serotonin levels and utilization (turnover) as an index of presynaptic activity of circuits involved in emotional state. Our evaluations encompassed responses during the period of adult nicotine treatment (PN105) and withdrawal (PN110, PN120, PN130), as well as long-term changes (PN180). In males, prior exposure to nicotine in adolescence greatly augmented the increase in serotonin turnover evoked by nicotine given in adulthood, an interaction that was further exacerbated during withdrawal. The effect was sufficiently large that it led to significant depletion of serotonin stores, an effect that was not seen with nicotine given alone in either adolescence or adulthood. In females, adolescent nicotine exposure blunted or delayed the spike in serotonin turnover evoked by withdrawal from adult nicotine treatment, a totally different effect from the interaction seen in males. Combined with earlier work showing persistent dysregulation of serotonin receptor expression and receptor coupling, the present results indicate that adolescent nicotine exposure reprograms future responses of 5HT systems to nicotine, changes that may contribute to life-long vulnerability to relapse and re-addiction.

Prenatal dexamethasone, as used in preterm labor, worsens the impact of postnatal chlorpyrifos exposure on serotonergic pathways.

This study explores how glucocorticoids sensitize the developing brain to the organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos. Pregnant rats received a standard therapeutic dose (0.2mg/kg) of dexamethasone on gestational days 17-19; pups were given subtoxic doses of chlorpyrifos on postnatal days 1-4 (1mg/kg, <10% cholinesterase inhibition). We evaluated serotonin (5HT) synaptic function from postnatal day 30 to day 150, assessing the expression of 5HT receptors and the 5HT transporter, along with 5HT turnover (index of presynaptic impulse activity) in brain regions encompassing all the 5HT projections and cell bodies. These parameters are known targets for neurodevelopmental effects of dexamethasone and chlorpyrifos individually. In males, chlorpyrifos evoked overall elevations in the expression of 5HT synaptic proteins, with a progressive increase from adolescence to adulthood; this effect was attenuated by prenatal dexamethasone treatment. The chlorpyrifos-induced upregulation was preceded by deficits in 5HT turnover, indicating that the receptor upregulation was an adaptive response to deficient presynaptic activity. Turnover deficiencies were magnified by dexamethasone pretreatment, worsening the functional impairment caused by chlorpyrifos. In females, chlorpyrifos-induced receptor changes reflected relative sparing of adverse effects compared to males. Nevertheless, prenatal dexamethasone still worsened the 5HT turnover deficits and reduced 5HT receptor expression in females, demonstrating the same adverse interaction. Glucocorticoids are used in 10% of U.S. pregnancies, and are also elevated in maternal stress; accordingly, our results indicate that this group represents a large subpopulation that may have heightened vulnerability to developmental neurotoxicants such as the organophosphates.

Adverse benzo[a]pyrene effects on neurodifferentiation are altered by other neurotoxicant coexposures: interactions with dexamethasone, chlorpyrifos, or nicotine in PC12 cells.

BACKGROUND: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are suspected developmental neurotoxicants, but human exposures typically occur in combination with other neurotoxic contaminants. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: We explored the effects of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) on neurodifferentiation in PC12 cells, in combination with a glucocorticoid (dexamethasone, used in preterm labor), an organophosphate pesticide (chlorpyrifos), or nicotine. RESULTS: In cells treated with BaP alone, the transition from cell division to neurodifferentiation was suppressed, resulting in increased cell numbers at the expense of cell growth, neurite formation, and development of dopaminergic and cholinergic phenotypes. Dexamethasone enhanced the effect of BaP on cell numbers and altered the impact on neurotransmitter phenotypes. Whereas BaP alone shifted differentiation away from the cholinergic phenotype and toward the dopaminergic phenotype, the addition of dexamethasone along with BaP did the opposite. Chlorpyrifos coexposure augmented BaP inhibition of cell growth and enhanced the BaP-induced shift in phenotype toward a higher proportion of dopaminergic cells. Nicotine had no effect on BaP-induced changes in cell number or growth, but it synergistically enhanced the BaP suppression of differentiation into both dopaminergic and cholinergic phenotypes equally. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that, although BaP can act directly as a developmental neurotoxicant, its impact is greatly modified by coexposure to other commonly encountered neurotoxicants from prenatal drug therapy, pesticides, or tobacco. Accordingly, neurodevelopmental effects attributable to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may be quite different depending on which other agents are present and on their concentrations relative to each other.

BDE99 (2,2',4,4',5-pentabromodiphenyl ether) suppresses differentiation into neurotransmitter phenotypes in PC12 cells.

Early-life exposures to brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities later in life. Although these agents are thyroid disruptors, it is not clear whether this mechanism alone accounts for the adverse effects. We evaluated the impact of 2,2',4,4',5-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE99) on PC12 cells undergoing neurodifferentiation, contrasting the effects with chlorpyrifos, a known developmental neurotoxicant. BDE99 elicited decrements in the number of cells, evidenced by a reduction in DNA levels, to a lesser extent than did chlorpyrifos. This did not reflect cytotoxicity from oxidative stress, since cell enlargement, monitored by the total protein/DNA ratio, was not only unimpaired by BDE99, but was actually enhanced. Importantly, BDE99 impaired neurodifferentiation into both the dopamine and acetylcholine neurotransmitter phenotypes. The cholinergic phenotype was affected to a greater extent, so that neurotransmitter fate was diverted away from acetylcholine and toward dopamine. Chlorpyrifos produced the same imbalance, but through a different underlying mechanism, promoting dopaminergic development at the expense of cholinergic development. In our earlier work, we did not find these effects with BDE47, a BDE that has greater endocrine disrupting and cytotoxic effects than BDE99. Thus, our results point to interference with neurodifferentiation by specific BDE congeners, distinct from cytotoxic or endocrine mechanisms.