ACRYLAMIDE INDUCES IMMEDIATE-EARLY GENE-EXPRESSION IN RAT-BRAIN

Northern blot analysis was used to study the effects of acrylamide, a potent neurotoxin, on the induction of c-fos and c-jun mRNA in rat bra in. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (10-12 weeks old) treated with acrylamide as a single dose (100 mg/kg, i.p.) or via drinking water (0.03% w/v) for 4 weeks, were used to study acute and chronic effects on immediate -early gene expression, respectively. Acute administration of acrylami de caused a statistically significant increase in the expression of c- fos (approx. 37%) and c-jun (approx. 17%) mRNA in rat brain. By contra st, the level of c-fos mRNA in chronic acrylamide treatment was not al tered significantly, but the expression of c-jun mRNA was increased al most 100% as compared to control. These data show that the neurotoxin acrylamide induces immediate-early gene expression in the brain. The e ffects appear to be related to the route of administration, dose and d uration of acrylamide treatment.