The effect of acrylamide on the induction of ornithine decar☐ylase in the dorsal root ganglion of the rat

Abstract

Injury of the rat sciatic nerve is accompanied by an increased activity of the enzyme ornithine decar☐ylase (ODC) in dorsal root ganglia. This increase is impaired in streptozotocin-induced diabetes, in which retrograde axonal transport of proteins is reduced. In order to confirm the relationship between altered axonal transport and ODC induction we treated rats with acrylamide i.p. to cumulative doses of 150 and 350 mg/kg. One sciatic nerve was crushed under anaesthesia and 24 h later dorsal root ganglia were removed and assayed for ODC activity by a dual-label radioenzymatic method. The ratio of activity of2.41 ± 0.57 (crushed side over control side) was reduced to1.66 ± 0.9 and1.7 ± 0.65 after acrylamide treatment at 150 and 350 mg/kg, respectively. The results are consistent with the postulated role of retrograde axonal transport in the cell body responses to nerve injury and may explain the effect of acrylamide on nerve regeneration.