Human & Experimental Toxicology

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Delibas, N.
Right arrow Articles by Ozcelik, N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Delibas, N.
Right arrow Articles by Ozcelik, N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 22, No. 6, 335-339 (2003)
DOI: 10.1191/0960327103ht357oa

Ochratoxin a reduces NMDA receptor subunits 2A and 2B concentrations in rat hippocampus: partial protective effect of melatonin

Namik Delibas

SDU Arastirma ve Uygulama Hastanesi, Klinik Biyokimya Lab. 32260 Isparta, Turkey ndelibas{at}hotmail.com

Irfan Altuntas

Zafer Yonden

Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Suleyman Demirel University, School of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey

Nurten Ozcelik

Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Suleyman Demirel University, School of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by several fungi. Many foods can be contaminated by OTA, which is consequently found in the blood of humans and animals. It is known that OTA accumulates in the brain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of OTA on the brain. For this purpose, the effect of OTA on N-methyl-Daspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits 2A (NR2A) and 2B (NR2B) in the hippocampus and the protective effect of melatonin were investigated. Three groups of eight rats were used: controls, OTA-treated rats (OTA dose 289 mg/ kg per day) and OTA-melatonin-treated rats (melatonin dose 10 mg/kg per day). After four weeks of treatment, electrophoretic examinations were performed using SDSpolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting of hippocampal homogenates of the different groups. The concentrations of NR2A and NR2B in the OTA group were significantly lower than in the control group. The concentration of NR2B was significantly increased when melatonin was co-administered with OTA compared with OTA only. There was also a significant increase in NR2A levels when melatonin was co-administered with OTA. As a result, subchronic administration of OTA reduced hippocampal NMDA receptor subunits 2A and 2B concentrations in rats. It was thought that this alteration might affect cognitive functions because hippocampal NMDA receptors are involved in the memory and learning processes. Melatonin exhibited a partially protective effect on NR2A and NR2B against OTA.

Key Words: hippocampus • melatonin • NMDA receptor • ochratoxin A • rat


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?