This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Souidi, M. Articles by Guéguen, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Souidi, M. Articles by Guéguen, Y. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Chronic Contamination with ¹³⁷Cesium in Rat: Effect on Liver Cholesterol Metabolism

Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), Radiological Protection and Human Health Division (DRPH), Radiobiology and Epidemiology Department (SRBE), Laboratory of Experimental Toxicology, Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex, France

Correspondence: Address correspondence to M. Souidi, IRSN/DRPH/SRBE, B.P. n°17, F-92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex, France. E-mail:maamar.souidi{at}irsn.fr

After the Chernobyl nuclear accident, epidemiological studies on human populations living in ¹³⁷Cs-contaminated areas revealed the increase frequencies of thyroid cancer and evoked the apparition of cardiovascular diseases, hormonal effect, liver alteration, and lipid disorder. Actually, it raises a problem of public safety for the populations living on these territories that are exposed to low levels of ¹³⁷Cs during a long period through food. Then it is necessary to study potential effect of this chronic contamination. To mimic this situation, the authors investigate the potential biological effects of chronic exposure to ¹³⁷Cs at a postaccidental dose (150 Bq/rat/day) on hepatic metabolism of cholesterol in rat. Plasma lipid level, gene expression and activity were analyzed. It was observed that in ¹³⁷Cs-exposed rats, gene expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr), apolipoprotein B (apoB), and liver X receptor (LXR) are increased (95%, p < .05; 34%, p < .05; 20%, p < 0.05, respectively), whereas transporter adenosine triphosphate–binding cassette transporter G5 (ABCG5) is decreased (42%, p < .05). In addition, cytochrome P450 27A1 (CYP27A1) activity is increased (34%, p < .05) in contaminated rat liver. In conclusion, the results suggest that ¹³⁷Cs contamination at low-level induces molecular modifications of the liver cholesterol metabolism without leading to a dysregulation of its homeostasis. These results suggest that chronic long term exposure at low-level of ¹³⁷Cs may evolve to lipid disorder.

Key Words: Cesium • Chernobyl • Cholesterol • Liver • Rat

International Journal of Toxicology, Vol. 25, No. 6, 493-497 (2006)
DOI: 10.1080/10915810600961317


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?