Lanthanum damages learning and memory and suppresses astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle in rat hippocampus

• Published in: Experimental brain research Vol. 235; no. 12; pp. 3817 - 3832
• Main Authors: Jin, Cuihong, Gao, Liang, Li, Yingqi, Wu, Shengwen, Lu, Xiaobo, Yang, Jinghua, Cai, Yuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2017; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal memory; Animals; Astrocytes - drug effects; Astrocytes - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain injuries; Causes of; Children; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drinking water; Female; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Glycogen; Glycogen phosphorylase; Glycogen Synthase - genetics; Glycogen Synthase - metabolism; Health aspects; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - pathology; L-Lactate dehydrogenase; Lactation; Lactic acid; Lactic Acid - metabolism; Lanthanum; Lanthanum - toxicity; Learning disorders; Learning Disorders - chemically induced; Learning Disorders - pathology; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Memory disorders; Memory Disorders - etiology; mRNA; Neurology; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - metabolism; Neurosciences; Neurotoxicity; Phosphorylase; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - chemically induced; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - physiopathology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Research Article; Rodents; Spatial discrimination learning; Spatial Learning - drug effects; Spatial memory; Weaning; Learning and memory; Astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS); Lanthanum; Hippocampus
• ISSN: 0014-4819; 1432-1106
• DOI: 10.1007/s00221-017-5102-5

Rare-earth elements (REEs) are applied in various fields by virtue of their superior physical and chemical properties. Surveys have reported that REEs can impair learning and memory in children and induce neurobehavioral abnormalities in animals. However, the mechanism underlying this neurotoxicity is still unclear. Lanthanum (La) is often chosen to study the effects of REEs. Here, we investigated the role of astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS) in spatial learning and memory impairment induced by LaCl 3 in hippocampus, an important spatial memory-related brain region. Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, or 1% LaCl 3 in drinking water during pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, young rats continued to receive 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1% LaCl 3 in the drinking water for 1 month. The results showed that LaCl 3 exposure impaired the spatial learning and memory of rats in Morris water maze test, significantly reduced the mRNA and protein levels of glycogen synthetase, glycogen phosphorylase, lactate dehydrogenase A, monocarboxylate transporter 4, MCT-1, and MCT-2, and decreased total LDH activity and lactate contents in rat hippocampus. These results indicate that LaCl 3 impairs spatial learning and memory in rats probably by suppressing ANLS in rat hippocampus. The study provides a novel clue of energy supply for neurons to clarify the neurotoxicity of REEs.