The fungicide prothioconazole and its metabolite prothioconazole-desthio disturbed the liver-gut axis in mice

Protective effects and mechanism of Sangyu granule on acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The Sang Yu granule (SY), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription of Xijing Hospital, was developed based on the Guanyin powder in the classical prescription "Hong's Collection of Proven Prescriptions" and the new theory of modern Chinese medicine. It has been proved to have a certain therapeutic effect on drug-induced liver injury (DILI), but the specific mechanism of action is still unclear.

AIM OF STUDY

Aim of the study was to explore the effect of SangYu granule on treating drug-induced liver injury induced by acetaminophen in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The chemical composition of SY, serum, and liver tissue was analyzed using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. To assess hepatic function, measurements were taken using kits for total bile acids, as well as serum AST, ALT, and ALP activity. Concentrations of IL-1β and TNF-α in serum were quantified using ELISA kits. Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis and 2bRAD-M microbial diversity analysis were employed to evaluate gene expression variance in liver tissue and fecal microbiota diversity among different groups, respectively. Western blotting was performed to observe differences in the activation levels of FXR, SHP, CYP7A1 and PPARα in the liver, and the levels of FXR and FGF-15 genes and proteins in the ileum of mice. Additionally, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments were conducted to investigate the potential therapeutic effect of administering the intestinal microbial suspension from mice treated with SY on drug-induced liver injury.

RESULTS

SY treatment exhibited significant hepatoprotective effects in mice, effectively ameliorating drug-induced liver injury while concurrently restoring intestinal microbial dysbiosis. Furthermore, SY administration demonstrated a reduction in the concentration of total bile acids, the expression of FXR and SHP proteins in the liver was up-regulated, CYP7A1 protein was down-regulated, and the expressions of FXR and FGF-15 proteins in the ileum were up-regulated. However, no notable impact on PPARα was observed. Furthermore, results from FMT experiments indicated that the administration of fecal suspensions derived from mice treated with SY did not yield any therapeutic benefits in the context of drug-induced liver injury.

CONCLUSION

The aforementioned findings strongly suggest that SY exerts a pronounced ameliorative effect on drug-induced liver injury through its ability to modulate the expression of key proteins involved in bile acid secretion, thereby preserving hepato-enteric circulation homeostasis.

Gut microbiota disorders aggravate terbuthylazine-induced mitochondrial quality control disturbance and PANoptosis in chicken hepatocyte through gut-liver axis

Terbuthylazine (TBA) is a widely prevalent pesticide pollutant, which is a global concern due to its environmental residual. However, the toxic mechanism of TBA have not been fully solved. Here, we explored that TBA exposure disrupts the intestinal flora and aggravated disturbance of mitochondrial quality control and PANapoptosis in hepatocytes via gut-liver axis. Our findings demonstrated that TBA exposure induced significant damage to the jejunum barrier, evidenced by a marked decrease in the expression of Occludin and ZO-1. Moreover. TBA led to intestinal microflora disorder, manifested as the decreased abundance of Firmicutes, and increased abundance of the Nitrospirota, Chloroflexi, Desulfobacterota, Crenarchaeota, Myxococcota, and Planctomycetota. Meanwhile, intestinal microflora disorder affected the biological processes of lipid metabolism and cell growth and death of hepatocytes by RNA-Seq analysis. Furthermore, TBA could induced mitochondrial quality control imbalance, including mitochondrial redox disorders, lower activity of mitochondrial fusion and biogenesis decrease, and increasing level of mitophagy. Subsequently, TBA significantly increased expression levels of pyroptosis, apoptosis and necroptosis-related proteins. In general, these results demonstrated the underlying mechanisms of TBA-induced hepatotoxicity induced via the gut-liver axis, which provides a theoretical basis for further research of ecotoxicology of TBA.

Fungicides as a risk factor for the development of neurological diseases and disorders in humans: a systematic review

Although studies show that pesticides, especially insecticides, may be toxic to humans, publications on the neurological effects of fungicides are scarce. As fungicides are used widely in Brazil, it is necessary to gather evidence to support actions aimed at safely using of these chemicals. We investigated through a systematic review of publications on the use of fungicides and consequences of exposure related to nervous system diseases or neurological disorders in humans. The protocol review was registered on PROSPERO and followed the guidelines of the PRISMA-Statement. As far as it is known, there is no apparent systematic review in the literature on this topic. The search was comprised of the following databases: PubMed; Web of Science; Scopus and EMBASE, using groups of Mesh terms and strategies specific to each database. Thirteen articles were selected for this review. Regarding the substances analyzed in the studies, some reported the use of fungicides in general, without separating them by type, while others summarized the categories of all pesticides by their function (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.) or chemical class (dithiocarbamate, dicarboximide, inorganic, etc.). However, most of the articles referred to fungicides that contain the metal manganese (Mn) in their composition. As for neurological disorders, articles addressed Parkinson's disease (PD), neurodevelopmental outcomes, extrapyramidal syndrome resembling PD, cognitive disorders, depression, neural tube defects, motor neurone disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Most investigations pointed to exposure to fungicides, mainly maneb and mancozeb, leading to the development of at least one neurological disease, which suggests the need for further multicentric clinical trials and prospective studies for greater clarity of the research problem.

Impacts of prothioconazole and prothioconazole-desthio on bile acid and glucolipid metabolism: Upregulation of CYP7A1 expression in HepG2 cells

As an efficient triazole fungicide, prothioconazole (PTC) is widely used for the prevention and control of plant fungal pathogens. It was reported that the residues of PTC and prothioconazole-desthio (PTC-d) have been detected in the environment and crops, and the effects of PTC-d may be higher than that of PTC. Currently, PTC and PTC-d have been proven to induce hepatic metabolic disorders. However, their toxic effects on cellular bile acid (BA) and glucolipid metabolism remain unknown. In this study, HepG2 cells were exposed to 1-500 μM of PTC or PTC-d. High concentrations of PTC and PTC-d were found to induce cytotoxicity; thus, subsequent experimental exposure was conducted at concentrations of 10-50 μM. The expression levels of CYP7A1 and TG synthesis-related genes and levels of TG and total BA were observed to increase in HepG2 cells. Molecular docking analysis revealed direct interactions between PTC or PTC-d and CYP7A1 protein. To further investigate the underlying mechanisms, PTC and PTC-d were treated to HepG2 cells in which CYP7A1 expression was knocked down using siCYP7A1. It was observed that PTC and PTC-d affected the BA metabolism process and regulated the glycolipid metabolism process by promoting the expression of CYP7A1. In summary, we comprehensively analyzed the effects and mechanisms of PTC and PTC-d on cellular metabolism in HepG2 cells, providing theoretical data for evaluating the safety and potential risks associated with these substances.

Mefentrifluconazole exposure disrupted hepatic lipid metabolism disorder tightly associated with gut barrier function abnormal in mice

Mefentrifluconazole (MFZ) is an azole fungicide that is placed in agriculture for the control of fungal hazards. However, due to their non-biodegradability, azole fungicides can accumulate in plants, animals, and the environment, thus becoming a major health concern worldwide. In this study, we exposed 7-week-old C57BL/6 mice to 10, 30, and 100 mg/kg of MFZ for 28 d to assess the toxic effects of MFZ on the liver and gut tissues of the mice. Histopathological, biochemical indexes, and transcriptomic analyses revealed that MFZ exposure disrupted the liver structure and hepatic lipid metabolism as well as damaged gut barrier function and promoted inflammation in mice. Moreover, 16S rRNA sequencing demonstrated that MFZ exposure significantly increased the abundance of patescibacteria at the generic level. Also, MFZ exposure increased the abundance of bacterial genera associated with inhibition of glycolipid metabolism. These results suggested that the disruption of liver lipid metabolism caused by MFZ exposure may be caused by changes in gut microbiota function. This study provided a new disease occurrence study for risk assessment of MFZ and strengthened the focus on some novel fungicides.

Insights into enhanced toxic effects by the binary mixture of carbendazim and procymidone on hepatic lipid metabolism in mice

Carbendazim (CBZ) and procymidone (PRO) are two widely used fungicides in agriculture. However, there are still gaps in knowledge regarding about the potential hazards of joint exposure to CBZ and PRO in animals. Here, 6-week-old ICR mice were exposed to CBZ, PRO and CBZ + PRO for 30 days, and metabolomics were performed to discover the mechanism by which the mixture enhanced the effects on lipid metabolism. Co-exposure to CBZ + PRO elevated the body weights, relative liver weights and relative epididymis fat weights, but not in the single exposure groups. Molecular docking analysis suggested that CBZ and PRO combined with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) at the same amino acid site as the agonist rosiglitazone. The RT-qPCR and WB results demonstrated that the levels of PPARγ were higher in the co-exposure group than in the single exposure groups. In addition, hundreds of differential metabolites were discovered by metabolomics and enriched in different pathways, such as pentose phosphate pathway and purine metabolism. A unique effect, a decrease in glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) that promoted more NADPH production, was observed in the CBZ + PRO group. These results demonstrated that exposure to CBZ + PRO caused more serious lipid metabolism disorder in the liver than exposure to a single fungicide, which could provide some new insight for the toxic effects after fungicides joint exposure.

Oral Exposure to Epoxiconazole Disturbed the Gut Micro-Environment and Metabolic Profiling in Male Mice

Epoxiconazole (EPX), a triazole fungicide, is widely used in agriculture to control pests and diseases. High residual and occupational exposure to EPX increases health risks, and evidence of potential harm to mammals remains to be added. In the present study, 6-week-old male mice were exposed to 10 and 50 mg/kg bw EPX for 28 days. The results showed that EPX significantly increased the liver weights. EPX also decreased the mucus secretion of the colon and altered intestinal barrier function in mice including a reduced expression of some genes (Muc2, meprinβ, tjp1). Moreover, EPX altered the composition and abundance of gut microbiota in the colon of mice. The alpha diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson) in the gut microbiota increased after exposure to EPX for 28 days. Interestingly, EPX increased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroides and the abundance of other harmful bacteria including Helicobacter and Alistipes. Based on the untargeted metabolomic analysis, it was found that EPX altered the metabolic profiles of the liver in mice. KEGG analysis of differential metabolites revealed that EPX disrupted the pathway related to glycolipid metabolism, and the mRNA levels of related genes were also confirmed. In addition, the correlation analysis showed that the most altered harmful bacteria were associated with some significantly altered metabolites. The findings highlight that EPX exposure changed the micro-environment and lipid metabolism disturbance. These results also suggest that the potential toxicity of triazole fungicides to mammals cannot be ignored.

NMR-based metabolomics approach to assess the ecotoxicity of prothioconazole on the earthworm (Eisenia fetida) in soil

Prothioconazole (PTC) is a widely used agricultural fungicide. In recent years, studies have confirmed that it exerts adverse effects on various species, including aquatic organisms, mammals, and reptiles. However, the toxicological effects of PTC on soil organisms are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the toxic effects, via oxidative stress and metabolic responses, of PTC on earthworms (Eisenia fetida). PTC exposure can induce significant changes in oxidative stress indicators, including the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and the content of glutathione (GSH), which in turn affect the oxidative defense system of earthworms. In addition, metabolomics revealed that PTC exposure caused significant changes in the metabolic profiles of earthworms. The relative abundances of 16 and 21 metabolites involved in amino acids, intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and energy metabolism were significantly altered after 7 and 14 days of PTC exposure, respectively. Particularly, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that multiple different metabolic pathways could be disturbed after 7 and 14 days of PTC exposure. Importantly, these alterations in oxidative stress and metabolic responses in earthworms reveal that the effects of PTC on earthworms were time dependent, and vary with exposure time. In conclusion, this study highlights that the effects of PTC on soil organisms are of serious concern.