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Isolated brain capillaries: A model for the study of lead encephalopathy
Author(s) -
Goldstein Gary W.,
Wolinsky Jerry S.,
Csejtey Judit
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410010306
Subject(s) - calcium , lead poisoning , adenosine , chemistry , pathogenesis , encephalopathy , efflux , biophysics , biochemistry , medicine , biology , organic chemistry , psychiatry
The reaction of capillaries isolated from rat brain to incubation with 10 −4 M lead nitrate was investigated. Dense inclusions, probably containing lead, were found by electron microscopy inside most of the endothelial cell mitochondria. The steady‐state uptake of calcium by these cells was tripled after the exposure to lead. This increase may have been due in part to inhibition of active calcium efflux, since the adenosine triphosphate–dependent uptake of calcium by membranes prepared from the capillaries was abolished by 10 −5 M Pb(NO 3 ) 2 . In contrast, active uptake of potassium by the intact cells was not altered by lead. These results suggest that alterations in the calcium homeostasis of brain endothelial cells induced by the accumulation of lead may underlie the pathogenesis of brain edema in lead poisoning.