Abstract
In this study, we investigated the roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling in sodium fluoride-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in mouse splenocytes. Intragastric administration of 12, 24 or 48 mg/kg sodium fluoride resulted in a time- and dose-dependent increase in DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in mouse splenocytes on days 21 and 42. High ROS levels correlated with increased levels of phosphorylated IκB kinase and NF-κB p65 and decreased levels of inhibitory kappa B protein in splenocytes from mice treated with sodium fluoride. Moreover, splenocytes from sodium fluoride-treated mice showed high expression of pro-apoptotic proteins, including Bim, Bax, Bak, caspase-3 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase, and low expression of the anti-apoptotic proteins BcL-2 and BcL-xL. These results show that sodium fluoride induces apoptosis in mouse splenocytes by enhancing ROS-dependent NF-κB signaling.