Developmental Subchronic Exposure to Diphenylarsinic Acid Induced Increased Exploratory Behavior, Impaired Learning Behavior, and Decreased Cerebellar Glutathione Concentration in Rats

In Japan, people using water from the well contaminated with high-level arsenic developed neurological, mostly cerebellar, symptoms, where diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA) was a major compound. Here, we investigated the adverse effects of developmental exposure to 20mg/l DPAA in drinking water (early period [0–6 weeks of age] and/or late period [7–12]) on behavior and cerebellar development in male rats. In the open field test at 6 weeks of age, early exposure to DPAA significantly increased exploratory behaviors. At 12 weeks of age, late exposure to DPAA similarly increased exploratory behavior independent of the early exposure although a 6-week recovery from DPAA could reverse that change. In the passive avoidance test at 6 weeks of age, early exposure to DPAA significantly decreased the avoidance performance. Even at 12 weeks of age, early exposure to DPAA significantly decreased the test performance, which was independent of the late exposure to DPAA. These results suggest that the DPAA-induced increase in exploratory behavior is transient, whereas the DPAA-induced impairment of passive avoidance is long lasting. At 6 weeks of age, early exposure to DPAA significantly reduced the concentration of cerebellar total glutathione. At 12 weeks of age, late, but not early, exposure to DPAA also significantly reduced the concentration of cerebellar glutathione, which might be a primary cause of oxidative stress. Early exposure to DPAA induced late-onset suppressed expression of NMDAR1 and PSD95 protein at 12 weeks of age, indicating impaired glutamatergic system in the cerebellum of rats developmentally exposed to DPAA.