Assessing Neonatal Function in Three Genotypes of Mice Exposed to Benzo[a]pyrene
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"During Early Brain Development Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a pollutant and a known carcinogen. Exposure from BaP can come from vehicle emissions, tobacco smoke, and grilled food. BaP exposure has been linked to learning deficits as well as delays in neurological development in both animals and humans. We used a mouse model to mimic the human genetic variation in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and CYP1A2, which are genes related to BaP metabolism. Pregnant mice were dosed with BaP in corn oil soaked cereal or the corn oil vehicle from gestational day 10 to weaning at postnatal day 25 (P25). We tested neonatal reflexes using the righting reflex test at P5, 7 and 10. We also used the negative geotaxis test at P7, 10, and 14. We compared three genotypes of mice to determine if genetic differences affected susceptibility to BaP. We found that both treatment and genotype affected the mice’s’ reflex performance on the tests."