Dioxin effects on neonatal and infant thyroid function: routes of perinatal exposure, mechanisms of action and evidence from epidemiology studies

The Impact of Rumen-Protected L-Arginine Oral Supplementation on Libido, Semen Quality, Reproductive Organ Biometry, and Serum Biochemical Parameters of Rams

This study aimed to investigate the effect of oral supplementation of rumen-protected L-arginine on semen quality, testes, and accessory genital glands biometry in rams. Ten apparently healthy and fertile rams were randomly divided into two equal groups; control, and rumen-protected L-arginine (20 mg/Kg body weight for 30 days) treated group. In all rams, ultrasonographic measurements of the testes and the accessory genital glands and blood sampling were performed at day (D)10, D20, and D30 (D0 is the start of supplementation). Semen ejaculates were collected twice/week and semen quantity, and quality was examined. Our results showed that, in the L-arginine treated group, there were significant increase in the ultrasound biometric measurement of right seminal vesicle (RSV) and right Cowper's gland (RCG) at D10, both testes, tail of the epididymis (TE), SV, and CG of both sides at D20, and of both testes, RTE, RSV, RCG, and LSV at D30. Semen quality and quantity parameters were significantly improved in L-arginine treated group. Moreover, testosterone level in the L-arginine treated group was significantly higher than that in the Control group. Serum thyroxine and glutathione peroxidase concentrations were significantly higher in the L-arginine treated group. The present study concluded that oral supplementation with rumen-protected L-arginine is beneficial in improvement of rams' fertility.

Severe dioxin-like compound (DLC) contamination in e-waste recycling areas: An under-recognized threat to local health

Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) burning and recycling activities have become one of the main emission sources of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs). Workers involved in e-waste recycling operations and residents living near e-waste recycling sites (EWRS) are exposed to high levels of DLCs. Epidemiological and experimental in vivo studies have reported a range of interconnected responses in multiple systems with DLC exposure. However, due to the compositional complexity of DLCs and difficulties in assessing mixture effects of the complex mixture of e-waste-related contaminants, there are few studies concerning human health outcomes related to DLC exposure at informal EWRS. In this paper, we have reviewed the environmental levels and body burdens of DLCs at EWRS and compared them with the levels reported to be associated with observable adverse effects to assess the health risks of DLC exposure at EWRS. In general, DLC concentrations at EWRS of many countries have been decreasing in recent years due to stricter regulations on e-waste recycling activities, but the contamination status is still severe. Comparison with available data from industrial sites and well-known highly DLC contaminated areas shows that high levels of DLCs derived from crude e-waste recycling processes lead to elevated body burdens. The DLC levels in human blood and breast milk at EWRS are higher than those reported in some epidemiological studies that are related to various health impacts. The estimated total daily intakes of DLCs for people in EWRS far exceed the WHO recommended total daily intake limit. It can be inferred that people living in EWRS with high DLC contamination have higher health risks. Therefore, more well-designed epidemiological studies are urgently needed to focus on the health effects of DLC pollution in EWRS. Continuous monitoring of the temporal trends of DLC levels in EWRS after actions is of highest importance.

Prenatal dioxin exposure and thyroid hormone levels in the Seveso second generation study

BACKGROUND

In animal studies, perinatal exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters thyroid homoeostasis and thyroid hormone concentrations; epidemiologic evidence is limited.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to determine the association of prenatal exposure to TCDD with thyroid hormone concentrations in the Seveso Second Generation Study, a unique cohort of children born to TCDD-exposed women resulting from a 1976 chemical factory explosion in Seveso, Italy.

METHODS

We included 570 children (288 female, 282 male) with complete follow-up data, including a fasting blood draw. Serum levels of total and free thyroxine (T4), free triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured using immunoassays. We defined prenatal TCDD exposure as: 1) maternal initial TCDD concentration measured in serum collected soon after the explosion and 2) maternal TCDD estimated at pregnancy.

RESULTS

Compared to the lowest quartile (Q1), maternal initial serum TCDD was associated with lower free T3 (Q2: adj-β = -0.13, 95%CI -0.26, 0.00; Q3: adj-β = -0.22, 95%CI -0.35, -0.09; Q4: adj-β = -0.14, 95%CI -0.28, 0.00; p-trend = 0.02). In participants with high thyroid antibody status, inverse associations between maternal initial serum TCDD and free T3 were significantly stronger than in participants with normal antibody status (p-interaction = 0.02). We also observed a positive association between maternal initial serum TCDD and TSH concentrations in participants with high thyroid antibody status (Q2: adj-β = 11.4%, 95%CI -25.2, 66.1; Q3: adj-β = 49.0%, 95%CI 3.0, 115.5; Q4: adj-β = 105.5, 95%CI 36.6, 209.2; p-trend < 0.01) but not in those participants with normal antibody status (p-interaction < 0.01). Similar results were found for TCDD estimated at pregnancy.

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest prenatal exposure to TCDD, a potent endocrine-disrupting compound, may alter thyroid function later in life. Populations with additional thyroid stress may be particularly susceptible to in utero exposure of thyroid disrupting chemicals.

Occupational exposure to pesticides and thyroid function in Brazilian soybean farmers

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture production has been supported especially by the use of pesticides for crop protection and pest control. Although the agricultural production has been increased by pesticides use, these substances also reach non-target organisms and may become a risk to the health of farmers. Several epidemiological studies in human have investigated the association between exposure to pesticides and altered serum levels of thyroid hormones, reporting both positive and negative results. Overall, the impact of pesticides on human thyroid function is still limited.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to access serum levels of free thyroxin (FT4), total triiodothyronine (TT3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in soybean farmers in southern Brazil.

METHODS

The exposed group was composed by 46 rural workers and 27 subjects not exposed to pesticides composed the control group. All subjects had blood samples collected by venipuncture in order to analyze the serum levels of FT4, TT3, TSH and BChE.

RESULTS

The results showed a significant decreasing in TSH and increasing in TT3 and FT4 in rural workers, compared to control group. BChE levels were lower in exposed group than in control group. The results suggest that farmers are exposed to mixtures of pesticides with endocrine disruptor properties.

A single nucleotide polymorphism associated with isolated cleft lip and palate, thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism alters the activity of an oral epithelium and thyroid enhancer near FOXE1

Three common diseases, isolated cleft lip and cleft palate (CLP), hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer all map to the FOXE1 locus, but causative variants have yet to be identified. In patients with CLP, the frequency of coding mutations in FOXE1 fails to account for the risk attributable to this locus, suggesting that the common risk alleles reside in nearby regulatory elements. Using a combination of zebrafish and mouse transgenesis, we screened 15 conserved non-coding sequences for enhancer activity, identifying three that regulate expression in a tissue specific pattern consistent with endogenous foxe1 expression. These three, located -82.4, -67.7 and +22.6 kb from the FOXE1 start codon, are all active in the oral epithelium or branchial arches. The -67.7 and +22.6 kb elements are also active in the developing heart, and the -67.7 kb element uniquely directs expression in the developing thyroid. Within the -67.7 kb element is the SNP rs7850258 that is associated with all three diseases. Quantitative reporter assays in oral epithelial and thyroid cell lines show that the rs7850258 allele (G) associated with CLP and hypothyroidism has significantly greater enhancer activity than the allele associated with thyroid cancer (A). Moreover, consistent with predicted transcription factor binding differences, the -67.7 kb element containing rs7850258 allele G is significantly more responsive to both MYC and ARNT than allele A. By demonstrating that this common non-coding variant alters FOXE1 expression, we have identified at least in part the functional basis for the genetic risk of these seemingly disparate disorders.

Partitioning behavior of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants among feto-maternal bloods and tissues

Heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including Pb, Cd, T-Hg, MeHg, PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs, PCNs, and PBDD/Fs, were analyzed in 20 paired samples of cord blood, maternal blood, maternal urine, and placenta. The samples were collected from pregnant mothers and neonates from South Korea in 2010. The distribution of heavy metals among the samples varied with their physicochemical characteristics. The concentrations of Pb and Hg in the maternal and the cord blood samples were significantly correlated each other, implying efficient transplacental transport (TPT). Cd and Hg were accumulated in the placenta, forming protein conjugates, and T-Hg was higher in the cord blood samples than the maternal blood samples due to the binding affinity of Hg with fetal proteins. POPs generally showed the highest concentrations in the maternal serum samples, and the POPs levels in the cord serum and the placenta samples were dependent on the degree of halogenation. The TPT of POPs was seemingly related to lipoprotein transportation. Some PBDE congeners, however, showed their highest concentrations in the cord serum samples, suggesting an additional TPT mechanism. This is the first study to detect PCNs and PBDD/Fs in the cord serum samples, showing that the PCN levels were comparable to other POPs. According to the principal component analysis (PCA) results of the contaminant levels, POPs and heavy metals showed significantly different characteristics, whereas PBDEs had an intermediate attribute. Despite the limited number of participants, the comprehensive analysis of trace contaminants in the paired sample sets enabled us to infer the distribution and TPT mechanism of various contaminants.

Activation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) signaling pathway in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced neurotoxicity

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has been reported to cause alterations in cognitive and motor behavior during both development and adulthood. In this study, the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) signaling pathway was investigated in differentiated pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells to better understand the mechanisms of TCDD-induced neurotoxicity. TCDD exposure induced a time- and dose-dependent increase in nNOS expression. High levels of nitric oxide (NO) production by nNOS activation induced mitochondrial cytochrome c (Cyt-c) release and down-regulation of Bcl-2. Additionally, TCDD increased the expression of active caspase-3 and significantly led to apoptosis in PC12 cells. However, these effects above could be effectively inhibited by the addition of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a highly selective nNOS inhibitor. Moreover, in the brain cortex of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, nNOS was also found to have certain relationship with TCDD-induced neuronal apoptosis. Together, our findings establish a role for nNOS as an enhancer of TCDD-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells.

The PERK-eIF2α signaling pathway is involved in TCDD-induced ER stress in PC12 cells

Studies have shown that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induces apoptotic cell death in neuronal cells. However, whether this is the result of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis remains unknown. In this study, we determined whether ER stress plays a role in the TCDD-induced apoptosis of pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells and primary neurons. PC12 cells were exposed to different TCDD concentrations (1, 10, 100, 200, or 500nM) for varying lengths of time (1, 3, 6, 12, or 24h). TCDD concentrations much higher than 10nM (100, 200, or 500nM) markedly increased glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) levels, which are hallmarks of ER stress. We also evaluated the effects of TCDD on ER morphology in PC12 cells and primary neurons that were treated with different TCDD concentrations (1, 10, 50, or 200nM) for 24h. Ultrastructural ER alterations were observed with transmission electron microscopy in PC12 cells and primary neurons treated with high concentrations of TCDD. Furthermore, TCDD-induced ER stress significantly promoted the activation of the PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), a sensor for the unfolded protein response (UPR), and its downstream target eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 α (eIF2α); in contrast, TCDD did not appear to affect inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), two other UPR sensors. Importantly, TCDD significantly inhibited eIF2α phosphorylation and triggered apoptosis in PC12 cells after 6-24h of treatment. Salubrinal, which activates the PERK-eIF2α pathway, significantly enhanced eIF2α phosphorylation in PC12 cells and attenuated the TCDD-induced cell death. In contrast, knocking down eIF2α using small interfering RNA markedly enhanced TCDD-induced cell death. Together, these results indicate that the PERK-eIF2α pathway plays an important role in TCDD-induced ER stress and apoptosis in PC12 cells.

Long-term exposure to organochlorine pesticides and thyroid status in adults in a heavily contaminated area in Brazil

Organochlorine (OC) pesticides are endocrine disruptors altering the thyroid hormonal system. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between exposure to OC pesticides and thyroid status in adults from a rural area in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, heavily contaminated with OC pesticides. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 303 men and 305 women >14 years old. Concentrations of 19 OC pesticides and levels of free thyroxine (T4), total triiodothyronine (T3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroperoxidase (TPOAb) and anti-thyroglobulin (TgAg) antibodies were analyzed in serum samples. Associations between OC pesticides concentrations and values of biochemical thyroid parameters were determined using multivariate regression models stratified by gender. Prevalence of subclinical hyperthyroidism and the presence of TPOAb antibodies were higher than those described for euthyroid populations elsewhere. After adjusting for confounders, total T3 levels were associated with lower concentrations of endosulphan 2 in men and with higher alpha-chlordane, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), endosulphan 2, and methoxychlor in women. Levels of free T4 showed inverse association with beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and p,p'-DDT in men, and were positively associated with hexachlorobenzene (HCB), heptachlor, o,p'-DDT, and p,p'-DDT in women. TSH levels were associated with higher beta-HCH in men. A positive association was observed between exposure methoxychlor in males and presence of TPOAb, but no association with TPOAb was found in women. These results suggest that OC pesticides can affect the thyroid system through gender-specific mechanisms that may differ among compounds. Further detailed investigations and health monitoring should be warranted for this population.

Long term exposure to organochlorine pesticides and thyroid function in children from Cidade dos Meninos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A pesticide factory in Cidade dos Meninos village, Duque de Caxias County, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ended its activity in 1961, leading to widespread contamination of the environment by several organochlorine pesticides. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic exposure to organochlorine pesticides on thyroid hormone levels in children residing in Cidade dos Meninos. In a population-based survey carried out between 2003 and 2004, serum concentration of 19 pesticides and levels of free thyroxine (T4), total triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were determined in 193 children younger than 15 years old. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine thyroid hormone levels according to quintiles of organochlorine exposure, controlling for age, gender and serum lipid content. Free T4 and TSH levels were within reference values (0.7-1.8 ng/dl and 0.35-5.5 mU/l), whereas total T3 was above the reference range (80-180 ng/dl) in 28% of children. More than 60% of the children had detectable levels of most organochlorine pesticides. With the exception of heptachlor and methoxychlor, total T3 levels showed a significant increasing linear trend regardless of pesticide type to which children were exposed. Free T4 levels were positively and significantly associated only with exposure to p,p'-DDD, endosulfan 1, and dieldrin. No significant trend was found for TSH. Data showed that exposure of children to organochlorine pesticides produced a significant increase in serum total T3 concentrations. The clinical implications of such a total T3 elevation and subsequent development are uncertain and warrant the need for health monitoring of these children.

Effect of dietary consumption of sheep meat on thyroid hormone levels and energy expenditure of Sprague - Dawley rats

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a sheep meat-based diet on the thyroid hormone concentrations and energy expenditure of Sprague–Dawley rats. The diets, a sheep meat diet (SMD) or a casein control diet (CD), each based on a standard formulation (AIN-93G), contained 18.3% protein, 7.4% fat and 60.0% carbohydrate, and were isocaloric (15.9kJ/g dry matter). Serum tri-iodothryonine (T3), thyroxine (T4), free tri-iodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) concentrations, oxygen consumption rate (OCR), bodyweight, bodyweight gain and activities of liver sodium–potassium-adenosinetriphosphatase (Na,K-ATPase) and Ca2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (Ca-ATPase) were measured. Compared with the CD, the SMD increased the serum FT3 concentration on Day 7 (P = 0.004) and Day 14 (P < 0.001). Serum albumin concentrations, which may influence the amount of thyroid hormones bound, were significantly lower in the SMD group on Day 7 (P < 0.001) and Day 14 (P = 0.02) than those in the CD group. Both liver Na,K-ATPase and Ca-ATPase activities were significantly higher in rats consuming the SMD on Day 7 (P < 0.001, P = 0.001) and Day 14 (P < 0.001, P < 0.001) respectively. OCRs were significantly higher in rats consuming the SMD on Day 6 (P = 0.023) and Day 13 (P = 0.014). Both bodyweight and bodyweight gains were significantly lower in the SMD group. We concluded that sheep meat consumption decreased the serum albumin concentrations, which increased the serum FT3 concentrations. This lead to FT3 promoting the OCRs and the activities of Na,K-ATPase and Ca-ATPase, resulting in reduced bodyweight and bodyweight gain, presumably through greater energy expenditure. Thus, energy expenditure appears to have been enhanced in rats fed the SMD.

Weight-of-evidence analysis of human exposures to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds and associations with thyroid hormone levels during early development

Thyroid hormones play a critical role in the proper development of brain function and cell growth. Several epidemiological studies have been conducted to assess potential associations between pre- and post-natal exposure to dioxins or dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) and the levels of circulating thyroid hormones during early development. Dioxins and DLCs include chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, chlorinated dibenzofurans, and mono- and non-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We identified a total of 23 relevant epidemiological studies (21 cohort studies and 1 case-control study) that measured exposures to various types of dioxins and DLCs as well as markers of thyroid function, such as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (T4), free T4, total triiodothyroxine (T3), free T3, and thyroid-binding globulin concentrations in cord blood or circulation. While some of the studies reported associations between concentrations of dioxins and/or DLCs and some biomarkers of thyroid function, the majority of the observed associations were not statistically significant. Moreover, there were no clear and consistent effects across studies for any of the hormone levels examined, and while a number of studies showed a statistically significant association with exposure for a given marker of thyroid function, other studies showed either no change or changes in the opposite direction for the same thyroid function marker. Similarly, when the results were analyzed considering developmental stage, there generally were no clear and consistent effects at any age from birth through 12 years of age. The absence of a clear correlation between background exposures to dioxins and DLCs and thyroid function biomarkers during development is not consistent with the hypothesis that background exposures to these chemicals cause effects on thyroid function during development.

A margin-of-exposure approach to assessment of noncancer risks of dioxins based on human exposure and response data

BACKGROUND

Risk assessment of human environmental exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDFs) and other dioxin-like compounds is complicated by several factors, including limitations in measuring intakes because of the low concentrations of these compounds in foods and the environment and interspecies differences in pharmacokinetics and responses.

OBJECTIVES

We examined the feasibility of relying directly on human studies of exposure and potential responses to PCDD/PCDFs and related compounds in terms of measured lipid-adjusted concentrations to assess margin of exposure (MOE) in a quantitative, benchmark dose (BMD)-based framework using representative exposure and selected response data sets.

METHODS

We characterize estimated central tendency and upper-bound general U.S. population lipid-adjusted concentrations of PCDD/PCDFs from the 1970s and early 2000s based on available data sets. Estimates of benchmark concentrations for three example responses of interest (induction of cytochrome P4501A2 activity, dental anomalies, and neonatal thyroid hormone alterations) were derived based on selected human studies.

RESULTS

The exposure data sets indicate that current serum lipid concentrations in young adults are approximately 6- to 7-fold lower than 1970s-era concentrations. Estimated MOEs for each end point based on current serum lipid concentrations range from < 10 for neonatal thyroid hormone concentrations to > 100 for dental anomalies-approximately 6-fold greater than would have existed during the 1970s.

CONCLUSIONS

Human studies of dioxin exposure and outcomes can be used in a BMD framework for quantitative assessments of MOE. Incomplete exposure characterization can complicate the use of such studies in a BMD framework.

Neonatal thyroid function in Seveso 25 years after maternal exposure to dioxin

BACKGROUND

Neonatal hypothyroidism has been associated in animal models with maternal exposure to several environmental contaminants; however, evidence for such an association in humans is inconsistent. We evaluated whether maternal exposure to 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a persistent and widespread toxic environmental contaminant, is associated with modified neonatal thyroid function in a large, highly exposed population in Seveso, Italy.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Between 1994 and 2005, in individuals exposed to TCDD after the 1976 Seveso accident we conducted: (i) a residence-based population study on 1,014 children born to the 1,772 women of reproductive age in the most contaminated zones (A, very high contamination; B, high contamination), and 1,772 age-matched women from the surrounding noncontaminated area (reference); (ii) a biomarker study on 51 mother-child pairs for whom recent maternal plasma dioxin measurements were available. Neonatal blood thyroid-stimulating hormone (b-TSH) was measured on all children. We performed crude and multivariate analyses adjusting for gender, birth weight, birth order, maternal age, hospital, and type of delivery. Mean neonatal b-TSH was 0.98 microU/ml (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-1.08) in the reference area (n = 533), 1.35 microU/ml (95% CI 1.22-1.49) in zone B (n = 425), and 1.66 microU/ml (95% CI 1.19-2.31) in zone A (n = 56) (p < 0.001). The proportion of children with b-TSH > 5 microU/ml was 2.8% in the reference area, 4.9% in zone B, and 16.1% in zone A (p < 0.001). Neonatal b-TSH was correlated with current maternal plasma TCDD (n = 51, beta = 0.47, p < 0.001) and plasma toxic equivalents of coplanar dioxin-like compounds (n = 51, beta = 0.45, p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data indicate that environmental contaminants such as dioxins have a long-lasting capability to modify neonatal thyroid function after the initial exposure.