M. Kern et al., EFFECTS OF INORGANIC LEAD ON THE DIFFERENTIATION AND GROWTH OF CORTICAL-NEURONS IN CULTURE, Neurotoxicology, 14(2-3), 1993, pp. 319-328
Lead exposure has devastating effects on the developing nervous system
, producing morphological, cognitive, and behavioral deficits. To eluc
idate some of the mechanisms of lead neurotoxicity, we have examined i
ts effects on the differentiation of several types of cultured neurons
. Previously, we reported the effects of inorganic lead on several par
ameters of growth and differentiation of E18 rat hippocampal neurons a
nd two types of neuroblastoma cells cultured in medium with 2% fetal c
alf serum (FCS) (Audesirk et al., 1991). In the present study, we repo
rt the effects of concentrations of lead ranging from 1 nM to 1 mM on
the differentiation of hippocampal neurons cultured in medium containi
ng 10% FCS. In addition, we investigated lead effects on neurons isola
ted from the motor cortex region of the E18 rat embryo. Cortical neuro
ns were exposed to lead in concentrations ranging from 0. 1 nm to 1 mM
in medium with either 10% FCS or 2% FCS for 48 hr. The effects of lea
d tended to be multimodal. Neurite initiation, which is highly sensiti
ve to neurotoxic compounds, was inhibited by lead at both high and low
concentrations, with no effects at intermediate levels. Medium with 1
0% FCS enhanced certain growth parameters and tended to reduce the eff
ects of lead. There was an overall consistency in the effects of lead
on motor cortex and hippocampal neurons. (C) 1993 Intox Press, Inc.