Prenatal arsenic exposure alters REST/NRSF and microRNA regulators of embryonic neural stem cell fate in a sex-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to arsenic, a common environmental toxin found in drinking water, leads to a host of neurological pathologies. We have previously demonstrated that developmental exposure to a low level of arsenic (50ppb) alters epigenetic processes that underlie deficits in adult hippocampal neurogenesis leading to aberrant behavior. It is unclear if arsenic impacts the programming and regulation of embryonic neurogenesis during development when exposure occurs. The master negative regulator of neural-lineage, REST/NRSF, controls the precise timing of fate specification and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Early in development (embryonic day 14), we observed increased expression of Rest, its co-repressor, CoREST, and the inhibitory RNA binding/splicing protein, Ptbp1, and altered expr

SUBMITTER: Tyler CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5235956 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan - Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature