Effect of Long-Term Intake of Y3+ in Drinking Water on Gene Expression in Brains of Rats

The rats were fed with water dissolved Y3+ at different levels (0, 53.4, 5340 mg·L−1) for 7 months. The gene expression in brain tissue was detected with oligonucleotide microarray. The results show that, compared to the control, 789 genes express differentially, 507 over-expressed genes and 282 under-expressed genes in the high-dose group (5340 mg·L−1), of which, most were related to cell receptor, cell signal and transmission, and ionic passage. 44 genes were found to express differentially including 32 over-expressed genes and 12 under-expressed genes in the low-dose group (53. 40 mg·L−1), of which, most were related to cell skeleton and movement, immunity, and DNA binding protein. These results suggest that Y3+ can change the expression of some genes, which may be responsible for the toxicity of rare earths on learning and memory.