In vitro evaluation of (EDC-induced) developmental neurotoxicity: emphasis on endosulfan and acrylamide
2022 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Developmental neurotoxicity can be induced in the foetus or the new-born baby by exposure to chemicals. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with the hormonal system, increasing the risk of several developmental deficits. The aim of this bachelor thesis was to evaluate developmental neurotoxicity of the (suspected) EDCs acrylamide and endosulfan using the neural progenitor cell line C17.2. Acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical that has been shown to be neurotoxic. Endosulfan is an insecticide and a known endocrine disruptor. It has also been associated with neurotoxicity. In the first part of the project, developmental neurotoxicity effects of acrylamide and endosulfan was evaluated with the help of a cellular differentiation assay. Neural progenitor cells were exposed three times to either of the chemicals over the course of 10 days. Total number of cells, neuronal morphology, and the percentage of neurons in culture were evaluated on day 10. Acrylamide had no effect on the aspects evaluated in this cell model. Exposure to endosulfan affected neuronal morphology at concentrations 16, 80, and 400nM, and decreased viability at concentrations 2000 and 10000nM, but did not affect the percentage of neurons in culture. This indicates that endosulfan has a developmental neurotoxic effect on neural progenitor cells. In the second part of the project, an assay was developed that aims at evaluating the proliferation potential of neural progenitor cells when exposed to EDCs. A serum-free alternative to routine culture medium was evaluated. It showed promise for continuous assay development since the cells had a high viability in the new media.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2022.
Keywords [en]
Developmental neurotoxicity, DNT, Endocrine disrupting chemicals, EDC, endosulfan, acrylamide
National Category
Natural Sciences Biological Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-494709OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-494709DiVA, id: diva2:1729074
Educational program
Bachelor Programme in Biology / Molecular Biology
Presentation
2023-01-11, Norbyvägen 18A, Uppsala, 09:00 (English)
Supervisors
Examiners
2023-03-102023-01-192023-03-10Bibliographically approved