Patulin-induced ion flux in cultured renal cells and reversal by dithiothreitol and glutathione: a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) X-ray microanalysis study

Protection from glutathione depletion by a glyconutritional mixture of saccharides

A complex glyconutritional (GN) mixture of mono-, di-and polysaccharides was investigated to assess its capacity to protect two different types of rodent cells, rat hepatocytes and mouse splenocytes, from depletion of glutathione by a sulfhydryl-reactive mycotoxin, patulin, or by coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection, respectively. Rat hepatocytes were treated with the GN mixture in vitro or received carrier medium only prior to treatment with patulin. When treated with the GN mixture prior to patulin exposure hepatocytes demonstrated protection against depletion of intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH). Cells treated with the GN for up to 15 hours prior to patulin exposure showed no increase in protection of GSH above that demonstrated by cells treated for 3 hours. Mice were infected with CVB3 and one treatment group was injected intraperitoneally with the GN once a week. Animals were splenectomized each month over a ten month treatment for analysis of spleen monocytic cells. Splenocytes from mice treated with the GN mixture did not show the virally-associated depletion of intracellular GSH or damage to pancreatic acini observed in CVB3 inoculated but non-GN-treated mice. Animals from which spleen cells were taken for analysis showed no decrease in anti-CVB3 antibodies and no decrease in viral titers to accompany or explain the normal levels of intracellular GSH. These data strongly suggest that a complex mixture of exogenous saccharides exerts a protective effect on liver cells in vitro in that the cells are protected from chemically initiated depletion of intracellular GSH, and on spleen cells in vivo in that the cells are protected against a CVB3-initiated decrease in intracellular GSH and increase in pancreatic acini damage.

Comparative toxicity of eugenol and its quinone methide metabolite in cultured liver cells using kinetic fluorescence bioassays

Comparative kinetic analyses of the mechanisms of toxicity of the alkylphenol eugenol and its putative toxic metabolite (quinone methide, EQM) were carried out in cultured rat liver cells (Clone 9, ATCC) using a variety of vital fluorescence bioassays with a Meridian Ultima laser cytometer. Parameters monitored included intracellular GSH and calcium levels ([Ca2+]i), mitochondrial and plasma membrane potentials (MMP and PMP), intracellular pH, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and gap junction-mediated intercellular communication (GJIC). Cells were exposed to various concentrations of test compounds (1 to 1000 microM) and all parameters monitored directly after addition at 15 s intervals for at least 10 min. Eugenol depleted intracellular GSH, inhibited GJIC and generation of ROS, and had a modest effect on MMP at concentrations of 10 to 100 microM. At high concentrations (1000 microM), eugenol also affected [Ca2+]i, PMP, and pH. Effects of EQM were seen at lower concentrations (1 to 10 microM). The earliest and most potent effects of either eugenol or EQM were seen on GSH levels and GJIC. Coadministration of glutathione ethyl ester enhanced intracellular GSH levels by almost 100% and completely protected cells from cell death caused by eugenol and EQM. These results suggest that eugenol mediates its hepatotoxic effects primarily through depletion of cytoprotective thiols and interference in thiol-dependent processes such as GJIC. Furthermore, our results support the hypothesis that the toxic effects of eugenol are mediated through its quinone methide metabolite.

Patulin-induced cellular toxicity: a vital fluorescence study

The mechanisms of patulin-induced cellular toxicity in an immortalized rat granulosa cell line were examined using several vital fluorescence bioassays. Monochlorobimane and 5-chloromethylfluorescein diacetate were used to monitor cellular glutathione (GSH) levels and revealed dose- and time-dependent depletion of GSH by patulin. A significant reduction in the fluorescence of the monochlorobimane-GSH conjugate by 0.1 microM patulin was observed between 1 and 2 hr. Similar GSH depletion by the mycotoxin was also observed in parallel studies on a liver (Clone 9) and a renal (LLC-PK1) cell line, although reduction of fluorescence occurred within 1 hr at the same dosage. Analysis of the electrical potential-dependent partitioning of rhodamine 123 into mitochondria also revealed significant effects of patulin within 1 hr at 0.1 microM. An initial dose-dependent reduction in mitochondrial fluorescence was followed by loss of selective partitioning of the fluorophore into mitochondria at higher doses and/or a longer exposure of cells to patulin. The reduction in mitochondrial fluorescence was paralleled by a dose-dependent decrease in intracellular pH detected with 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein. Analysis of [Ca2+]i with indo-1 and fluo-3 revealed a significant dose-dependent influx of Ca2+ at 10 microM and an alteration of the pattern of ionomycin-induced Ca2+ influx at 1.0 microM following patulin treatment. A carboxyfluorescein fluorescence photobleaching assay was used to examine the effects of patulin on gap junction-mediated intercellular communication. Dose-dependent reduction in intercellular communication was observed within 2 hr with 1.0 microM patulin. These observations indicate that the fluorescence assays used in this study provide a sensitive index of toxicity caused by exposure to patulin. Further, the toxic effects of patulin may involve direct effects on cellular glutathione levels and mitochondrial function in addition to direct effects on the plasma membrane.

The mechanism of patulin's cytotoxicity and the antioxidant activity of indole tetramic acids

In LLC-PK1 cells exposed to patulin (50 microM), lipid peroxidation, abrupt calcium influx, extensive blebbing, and total LDH release appeared to be serially connected events with each representing a step in the loss of structural integrity of the plasma membrane. The aforementioned patulin-induced events were prevented by concurrent incubation with butylated hydroxytoluene, deferoxamine, and cyclopiazonic acid, a fungal metabolite. Patulin also caused depletion of nonprotein sulfhydryls, increased 86Rb+ efflux, dome collapse, and eventually the loss of cell viability. These events were not prevented by antioxidants, results consistent with the hypothesis that they were also serially connected but occurring parallel to those previously mentioned. The earliest events observed in patulin-treated cells were the decrease in nonprotein sulfhydryls and increase in 86Rb+ efflux (5 min) which occurred before statistically significant alterations in protein-bound sulfhydryls. The increased potassium efflux (86Rb+ efflux) occurred via a pathway distinct from BaCl2, quinine, or tetraethylammonium sensitive potassium channels. This is the first published report of the antioxidant activity of indole tetramic acids (cyclopiazonic acid and cyclopiazonic acid imine). The protective effect of tetramic acids in LLC-PK1 cells was restricted to indole tetramic acids, and their prevention of lipid peroxidation did not involve iron chelation. The results of this study demonstrate that cyclopiazonic acid is a potent inhibitor of azide-insensitive, ATP-dependent, a23187-sensitive calcium uptake by the lysate of LLC-PK1 cells. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that the endoplasmic reticulum calcium transport ATPase is a sensitive target for cyclopiazonic acid in LLC-PK1 cells. These findings raise the interesting possibility that the antioxidant activity of indole tetramic acids may involve multiple novel mechanisms: surface charge alterations on the cytoplasmic surface of plasma membranes, alterations in calcium permeability in the plasma and endoplasmic reticulum membrane, and inhibition of the calcium-dependent ATPase of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Influence of supplemental glutathione on selenite-mediated growth inhibition of canine mammary cells

Present studies show the in vitro addition of glutathione (GSH) can significantly alter selenite induced growth inhibition of mammary tumor cell line 13 (CMT-13). Preincubation with 100 microM GSH for 24 h partially prevented the growth inhibition caused by 12.6 microM selenite. Pre-incubation with 100 microM GSH for 48 h completely prevented the growth inhibition caused by 12.6 microM selenite. In marked contrast, simultaneous addition of GSH and selenite dramatically increased the severity of selenite-mediated growth inhibition and resulted in cell death. Exposure to selenite (12.6 microM) increased intracellular GSH throughout the 3 day incubation period. Addition of GSH to the medium also led to an approximate 25% increase in intracellular GSH that persisted for 72 h. Cellular retention of selenium following selenite supplementation was decreased up to 70% by GSH preincubation yet increased markedly (greater than or equal to 240%) by the simultaneous addition of GSH and selenite. The rate of selenite uptake was not consistently altered by GSH pretreatment. However, the simultaneous addition of GSH and selenite resulted in a dramatically increased rate of selenium uptake. These data indicate that extracellular GSH can alter the toxicity of supplemental selenite. The protective effect of GSH pre-incubation against selenite toxicity appears to relate to altered selenium retention.

Chronology of patulin-induced alterations in membrane function of cultured renal cells, LLC-PK

In a previous study we compared the effects of patulin (PAT) and ouabain, a specific inhibitor of the Na(+)-K+ ATPase, and found significant differences with regard to the kinetics of Na+ influx and K+ efflux, and sulfhydryl reactivity in LLC-PK1 cells. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between Na+ influx, K+ efflux, membrane potential ([3H]tetraphenylphosphonium accumulation), cellular viability [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release], and changes in cell morphology (blebs). The effects of PAT are concentration and time dependent. At concentrations of PAT above 10 microM there is a transient increase in intracellular electronegativity (less than 1 hr) followed by a sustained depolarization (greater than 1 hr) which is correlated with complete Na+ influx, K+ efflux, total LDH release, and bleb formation. However, at PAT concentrations of 5-10 microM there is a sustained increased intracellular electronegativity (4-8 hr) which is associated with partial Na+ influx and K+ efflux, no significant LDH release, and relatively few blebs. The hyperpolarizing effect may be a result of increased permeability to K+ relative to Na+. At times and concentrations which result in increased intracellular electronegativity, PAT has no effect on [3H]ouabain binding and thus increased Na+/K+ pump turnover does not seem to be the cause of the transient hyperpolarizing effect of PAT. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that PAT causes alterations in plasma membrane permeability which favor K+ efflux relative to Na+ influx. The toxic effects of PAT are irreversible in LLC-PK1 cells after even short pretreatment with PAT. The primary toxic lesion appears to be at some level other than that involving inhibition of macromolecular synthesis, perhaps the plasma membrane itself.