Effect of Anatoxin-a on Expression of IEGs Genes in Mouse Brain

Objective To explore the role of IEGs in the central neurotoxicity of mice induced by anatoxin-a ANTX-A. Methods 80 Kunming mice were divided into groups and treated with ANTX-A at 200, 50 and 12.5 μg/kg respectively i.p. for one month, 0.9% sodium chloride solution was used as the control. The expression of c-fos and NGFI-A genes and CREB protein in mouse brain were determined by using RT-PCR and immunocytochemical methods. Results The expression of c-fos gene significantly increased in the females of 50, 200 μg/kg groups and in the males of 200 μg/kg group compared with the control group. The expression of C-FOS and CREB-1 protein was significantly higher in 200 μg/kg group than that in the control group. In all ANTX-A treated groups, the expression of NGFI-A gene did not show a significant difference compared with the control. Conclusion c-fos and CREB-1 genes may play a role in the central neurotoxicity induced by anatoxin-a.