Objective To explore the effects of subchronic aluminum exposure on the level of N6-methyladenosine(m6A)methylation and the expression of N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 1(YTHDF1)in the hippocampus of rats.Methods Twenty-four healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group(normal saline),the low dose group[10 μmol/kg Al(mal)3],the medium dose group[20 μmol/kg Al(mal)3]and the high dose group[40 μmol/kg Al(mal)3],with 6 rats in each group.The Al(mal)3 solution was administered via intraperitoneal injection on alternate days for 90 days.Escape latency,target quadrant dwell time and platform crossing times were tested to evaluate the learning and memory ability of the rats by the Morris water maze test after exposure.The brain tissue was weighted and the brain-to-body weight ratio was calculated after euthanasia.The level of m6A methylation and the expression of YTHDF1 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot assay,respectively.Results All rats survived during aluminum exposure period.The brain-to-body weight ratios of the control group and the low,medi-um and high dose groups were(0.46±0.06)%,(0.44±0.04)%,(0.49±0.06)%and(0.51±0.07)%,respectively,with no statis-tically significant differences(P>0.05).The escape latency of rats in the high dose group was longer than that in con-trol and low group during the third to fifth day(both P>0.05).The escape latency of rats in all groups was shortened with the increase of training days(P<0.05).The target quadrant dwell time of rats in low,medium and high dose groups were lower than that in control group,and the platform crossing times of rats in high dose group were lower than that in control group(all P<0.05).The methylation level of m6A and expression level of YTHDF1 in hippocampus of rats in medium and high dose groups was higher than that in control group(both P<0.05).Conclusion The learn-ing and memory impairment caused by subchronic aluminum exposure may be related to the increase of m6A methyla-tion level and the decrease of YTHDF1 expression.
aluminumN6-methyladenosineN6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 1learning and memory ability
万方数据
维普
