The reproductive and cognitive effects of in-utero mercuric chloride exposure; an

描述（由申请人提供）：子宫内氯化汞暴露的生殖和认知影响；以及硒的改善作用。接触汞（Hg）与不良生殖和神经行为因素有关。阿拉巴马州是第四大无机汞（IHg）废物产生地，2008年排放到环境中的汞为16,220磅。在排放汞废物最多的五个县中，有三个县的婴儿死亡率较高，四个县的低出生体重率较高，四个县的母亲在两年内生育第二胎的比例较低。虽然并非所有的不良生殖数据都是由汞引起的，但阿拉巴马州的汞污染与不良生殖数据分布之间的联系是惊人的。无机汞对月经紊乱、初级生育能力低下和低存活率的发生率有影响。早期接触无机汞的研究揭示了大脑和小脑的神经发育影响、行为缺陷和汞升高。硒是一种必需营养素，是影响女性生育能力的重要因素。我们建议研究1)富硒饮食对IHg暴露雌性大鼠生殖的改善作用；2)子宫内暴露对后代的认知和行为影响。我们的假设是富硒饮食减轻了汞对生殖的不利影响；子宫内接触汞会导致后代认知缺陷。这些发现可能会导致一种廉价而有效的补救措施，以减轻IHg对生殖的一些有害影响，并确定子宫内接触IHg与后代的认知缺陷有关。这可能对生活在汞污染地区的人口产生直接影响。在我们的实验室里，我们一直保持着包括本科生参与我们研究的政策。为此，几名本科生在学习过程中与科学有了独特的接触。心理学和生物学的本科学生接受了跨学科的培训，使他们能够研究环境污染物对整个生物体以及细胞水平的影响。我们实验室的本科生研究助理在加利福尼亚州蒙特雷举行的畸胎学学会年会上展示了海报，并在特洛伊大学举行的第七届特洛伊大学心理学年会上获得了一等奖。通过R15机制，我们打算让心理学和生物学的本科生有机会从行为和生物学的角度来理解研究。在我们新成立的操作性实验室中，生殖研究着眼于生物学，行为研究着眼于认知效应，学生们将逐渐了解整个生物体的行为与环境毒素在细胞水平上造成的损害之间的关系。这将给他们的行为和细胞损伤的相互作用的独特视角。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The reproductive and cognitive effects of in-utero mercuric chloride exposure; and the ameliorating effects of selenium. R15 Application Exposure to mercury (Hg) has been associated with adverse reproductive and neuro-behavioral factors. Alabama is the 4th largest inorganic Hg (IHg) waste producer with 16,220lbs released into the environment in 2008. Of the five counties releasing the most IHg waste, three have higher infant death rates, four have higher low birth weight rates, and four have a lower percentage of mothers with a second birth in under two years. While not all adverse reproductive data presented is caused by Hg, the association between IHg pollution in Alabama and the distribution of adverse reproductive data is striking. Inorganic mercury has an effect on incidence rates of menstrual disorders, primary subfecundity, and lower viable fetuses. Studies focusing on very early exposure of inorganic mercury reveal neuro-developmental effects, behavioral deficits and increased Hg in the cerebrum and the cerebellum. Selenium (Se), an essential nutrient, is an important factor in fertility in females. We propose to study 1) the ameliorating effects of a selenium enriched diet on reproduction in female rats exposed to IHg; and 2) the cognitive and behavioral effects of in-utero exposure in offspring. Our hypothesis is a selenium enriched diet lessens the adverse reproductive effects of IHg; and in-utero exposure to IHg is a cause of cognitive deficits in offspring. These findings could lead to an inexpensive and effective remedy to alleviate some of the detrimental influence of IHg on reproduction, and establish that in-utero exposure to IHg is related to cognitive deficits in offspring. This could have a direct impact on populations living in mercury polluted areas. Within our laboratory we have always maintained a policy of including undergraduates in our Research. To this end, several undergraduate students have experienced a unique encounter with science during our studies. Undergraduate psychology and biology students received interdisciplinary training that allows them to look at the effects of an environmental pollutant on the whole organism as well as at the cellular level. Undergraduate research assistants from our laboratory have presented posters at the Annual Meeting of the Teratology Society, in Monterey, Ca., and at the 7th Annual Troy University Psychology Conference, in Troy Al., where they won first prize. Through the R15 mechanism we intend to give undergraduate students from psychology and biology the opportunity to understand research from both the behavioral and the biological perspective. With the reproductive study looking at biology and the behavioral study in our newly formed operant laboratory looking at cognitive effects, students will come to understand the relationship between the behavior of the whole organism and damage caused at the cellular level by environmental toxins. This will be give them a unique perspective of the interaction of behavior and cellular damage. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Inorganic mercury has been shown to have a detrimental effect on reproduction and cognitive abilities. Alabama is the 4th largest mercury (Hg) waste producing state with detrimental birth data that correlates with (Hg) waste distribution. We intend to investigate if a selenium diet offsets these effects and whether in-utero exposure causes neuro-behavioral deficits in offspring.