The Effect of Prenatal Lead on the Expression of Synapsin Gene in the Hippocampus of 17 Day Fetal Mice

Background and aim: exposed to environmental lead and waves during embryonic life causes changes in the expression of developmental genes leading to hippocampal impairment. it was reported the electromagnetic field (emf) effect on synapsin level which results in alteration of neurotransmitters. synapsin (syn) plays an important role in neuronal development and function.methods: pregnant mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: control, lead and lead+electromagnetic field (emf). the last two groups were treated with 5mg/kg of lead acetate in drinking water and emf at a frequency of 50 hz and an intensity of 2 mt for 4 hours a day during gestation respectively. animals were sacrificed on day 17 and brain tissues of their male embryos including hippocampus were extracted and stored in freezer to evaluate syn gene expression by quantitative real-time rt-pcr.results: lead significantly downregulated the mrna expression of syn in the hippocampus of lead group compared to sham. in addition, there was a significant difference between emf and sham groups. but, there was no significant difference between emf and lead groups.conclusion: exposure to lead and emf in sensitive embryonic period by affecting expression of syn gene can affect hippocampal development.