Abstract: Objective To research the effects of lead acetate with different concentration on caspase familial in cranial nerve cells of rats, and to investigate the possible mechanism of apoptosis in cranial nerve cells induced by lead poisoning. Method Fourty Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups randomly: normal group (distilled water, A group), high concentration group (2 g/L, B group), middle concentration group (1 g/L, C group), and low concentration group (0.5 g/L,C group), each group drunk lead acetate aqueous solution with different concentration for 2 months; the content of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 proteins in brain tissue homogenate were detected by spectrophotometric method. Result Compared with A group, the content of caspase-3、caspase-8、caspase-9 protein in brain tissue of B, C, D groups increase significantly (P<0.001, P<0.01, P<0.05) with concentration dependent. Conclusion Lead poisoning could increase the expression of caspase familial, and significantly induce apoptosis in cranial nerve cells.

Key words: Lead poisoning, Cranial nerve cells, Caspase familial