Fisheries College, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Environ Toxicol. 2014 Mar;29(3):261-8. doi: 10.1002/tox.21754. Epub 2012 Jan 5.
Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is a commonly encountered blue-green algal hepatotoxin and a known inhibitor of cellular protein phosphatase. However, little is known about its neurotoxicity. By using Morris water maze, histopathological and biochemical analysis, we investigated MCLR-induced neurotoxicity on the hippocampus of rat brain. After rats were intrahippocampally injected with MCLR (1 and 10 μg/L), their learning and memory function was greatly impaired, suggesting the neurotoxic potential of MCLR. Meanwhile, obvious histological and ultrastructural injuries and serious oxidative damage were also observed in the hippocampus. These results suggested that oxidative stress might be involved in the MCLR-induced pathological damage in hippocampus, subsequently leading to the spatial learning and memory deficit of rat. Taken together, our results highlighted the MCLR-induced neurotoxicity in the rat, as well as the importance of oxidative stress and pathological impairment in this procedure.
微囊藻毒素-LR（MCLR）是一种常见的蓝绿藻肝毒素，也是一种已知的细胞蛋白磷酸酶抑制剂。然而，其神经毒性知之甚少。本研究通过 Morris 水迷宫、组织病理学和生化分析，探讨了 MCLR 对大鼠海马的神经毒性作用。结果发现，大鼠海马内注射 MCLR（1 和 10μg/L）后，学习和记忆功能明显受损，表明 MCLR 具有神经毒性。同时，在海马区也观察到明显的组织学和超微结构损伤以及严重的氧化损伤。这些结果提示氧化应激可能参与了 MCLR 诱导的海马病理损伤，进而导致大鼠的空间学习和记忆缺陷。综上所述，本研究结果强调了 MCLR 诱导的大鼠神经毒性以及氧化应激和病理损伤在这一过程中的重要性。
