Lead-induced alteration of apoptotic proteins in different regions of adult rat brain.

In our earlier investigations, we have demonstrated the alteration of antioxidant enzymes in adult rat brain exposed to lead. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of lead on inducing apoptosis by choosing poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), bcl-2 and caspase-3 expression as marker proteins in the cerebellum, the hippocampus, the brain stem and the frontal cortex. Adult male rats were treated with lead acetate (500ppm) through drinking water for a period of 8 weeks and parallel controls were maintained on sodium acetate.