Abstract
Industrialization and anthropogenic activities are constantly introducing heavy metals in biosphere, which is becoming a serious global issue. Arsenic and cadmium are known human carcinogens, while exposure of lead is also very toxic for human body. In the present study, anti-proliferative effects of arsenic, cadmium and lead were investigated on rat pups brain cells (RPBCs). RPBCs were isolated from one day old rat pup after dissection of brain. Anti-proliferative effect of arsenic, cadmium and lead were tested by neutral red uptake assay. Both arsenic and cadmium proved to be very toxic for RPBCs and there was great reduction in growth of cells as well as change in morphology. There was marked decrease in cells proliferation when cells were exposed to higher metal concentrations (10 mu g/ml) and longer duration (48 h). Exposure to lead also resulted in reduced proliferation of cells and change in morphology but effect of lead was not as severe as of arsenic and cadmium. Moreover, lead at lower concentration increased the proliferation of cells. In conclusion, arsenic, cadmium and lead are very toxic for RPBCs and impair the proliferation and morphology of cells.