Background Lead exposure induces microglial cell death, of which the mechanism is unclear. Ferroptosis is a new death form and its role in microglia death has not been reported.

Objective To investigate the role of ferroptosis in microglia following lead exposure in order to provide a theoretical basis for the mechanism of lead neurotoxicity.

Methods Microglial cell line BV-2 cells were co-cultured with 0, 10, 20 and 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate for 24 h. The 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate group with iron chelator (DFO) was named the 40+DFO group. Changes in BV-2 cell morphology after lead exposure were observed under an inverted microscope; tissue iron kit and glutathione kit were used to detect intracellular iron and glutathione (GSH) respectively; flow cytometry was applied to detect lipid reactive oxygen species (lipid ROS) immunofluorescence intensity. Western blotting and qPCR were adopted to detect the expressions of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), transferrin receptor 1 (TFR-1), divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), ferroportin 1 (FPN1) protein and mRNA.

Results Compared with the control group, the number of BV-2 cells decreased with increasing doses of lead and the cells showed a large, round amoeboid shape. The intracellular levels of iron of BV-2 cells were (1.08±0.04), (1.29±0.03), and (1.72±0.10) mg·g⁻¹ (calculated by protein, thereafter) in the 10, 20, and 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate groups, respectively, significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), and the intracellular level of iron in the 40+DFO group, (1.34±0.10) mg·g⁻¹, was lower than that in the 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate group, (1.72±0.03) mg·g⁻¹ (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the TFR-1 and DMT1 protein and mRNA expressions were increased in BV-2 cells in the 10, 20, 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate groups (P<0.05), especially in the 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate group; the FPN1 protein expression did not change significantly, but the FPN1 mRNA expressions in BV-2 cells in the 10, 20, 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate groups were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the intracellular GSH level decreased and the lipid ROS content increased in all three lead acetate groups; compared with the 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate group, the GSH level increased by 12.30% and the lipid ROS content decreased by 13.00% in the 40+DFO group (P<0.05). The expressions of GPX4 protein were reduced to 50.00%, 35.00%, and 17.00% of that of the control group in the 10, 20, and 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate groups respectively, while the expressions of GPX4 mRNA were also significantly reduced; the expressions of SLC7A11 protein and mRNA in the 20 and 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate groups were lower than that in the control group, with the most significant decrease in the 40 μmol·L⁻¹ lead acetate group (P<0.05).

Conclusion Lead exposure could induce ferroptosis in BV-2 cells, in which iron transport imbalance and oxidative damage might be involved.