Behavioral Alterations in Mice Exposed to Manganese via Drinking Water: Effects of Sex and a Lipopolysaccharide Challenge.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential and important metal; however, overexposures lead to adverse neurological outcomes. Nonoccupational Mn overexposure occurs primarily through consumption of Mn-contaminated drinking water (DW). Sex differences in terms of nervous and immune systems' responsiveness to excessive Mn in the DW are understudied. Thus, this study investigated behavioral and sex differences in response to Mn DW treatment (0.4 g Mn/L for up to 8 weeks) and a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge of adult C57BL/6 mice with GFP-tagged monocytes/microglia. After 6 weeks, in motor function tests, Mn exposure resulted in decreased activity and gait deficits. In two different mood tests (open field test [OFT]/elevated zero maze), Mn-exposed mice exhibited decreased fear/anxiety-like behavior. Two weeks after behavioral assessment, when mice were challenged with LPS, circulating inflammatory cytokines, and acute phase proteins increased in both sexes. After 8 weeks of Mn exposure, liver and brain Mn levels were increased, but Mn alone did not affect circulating cytokines in either sex. Notably, Mn-exposed/LPS-challenged males had potentiated plasma cytokine output, whereas the reverse was seen in females. Males, but not females, continued to exhibit increased fearlessness (i.e., increased OFT center time), even when challenged with LPS. Overall, our results show that Mn DW exposure increases brain Mn levels and it leads to behavioral alterations in both sexes. However, males might be more susceptible to the effect of Mn on mood, and this effect is recalcitrant to an inflammagen challenge. Mn augmented post-LPS cytokine production only in males, further indicating that important Mn effects are sex-biased.