Genotoxicity/mutagenicity of formaldehyde revealed by the Arabidopsis thaliana plants transgenic for homologous recombination substrates

14-3-3 proteins regulate the HCHO stress response by interacting with AtMDH1 and AtGS1 in tobacco and Arabidopsis

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is one of the most essential common carcinogenic environmental pollutants. While 14-3-3 proteins are known to regulate the response of plants to HCHO stress, the regulatory mechanisms responsible for a tolerant phenotype remain unclear. We first performed qPCR analysis of HCHO-treated Arabidopsis and tobacco and determined that the expression of At14-3-3PSI and Nt14-3-3C genes was rapidly upregulated after HCHO stress. Furthermore, overexpression of 14-3-3, AtMDH1 or AtGS1 genes enhanced plant HCHO absorption capacity and resistance, and knockdown or knockout of 14-3-3, AtMDH1 or AtGS1 genes reduced plant HCHO absorption capacity and resistance. However, overexpression of the AtGS1 and AtMDH1 genes in the At14-3-3 psi mutant restored HCHO uptake and resistance in Arabidopsis. Moreover, 14-3-3 bound to the N-terminus of AtMDH1 and the C-terminus of AtGS1, respectively, and repressed and enhanced their expression. The ¹³C NMR results of HCHO stress mutants Atgs1 and Atmdh1 showed that the metabolites Glu and Asp rapidly increased, indicating that AtGS1 and AtMDH1 were indeed indispensable for Arabidopsis to metabolize HCHO. In conclusion, we uncovered a HCHO stress response mechanism mediated by 14-3-3, which enhances the plant's ability to absorb HCHO, deepening our understanding of how plants respond to HCHO stress.

Ameliorative effect of boric acid against formaldehyde-induced oxidative stress in A549 cell lines

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a reactive agent and the most essential common carcinogenic environmental pollutant. The present study investigated the protective and ameliorative effects of boric acid (BA) against formaldehyde-induced oxidative stress in A549 cell lines. The first group served as a control, the second group was treated with only 100 μM formaldehyde, and the third, fourth, and fifth groups were treated with 2.5, 5, and 10 mM BA, respectively. The sixth, seventh, and eighth groups were treated with 2.5, 5, and 10 mM BA plus 100 μM formaldehyde, respectively. In A549 cell lines, formaldehyde treatment significantly decreased cell viability, glutathione level, and enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase; however, malondialdehyde levels of the cell lysate were found to increase compared with the control group. In addition, formaldehyde treatment did not significantly alter nitric oxide levels. Meanwhile, mRNA expression levels of Tnf-α, NFĸB, and caspase-3 significantly increased but the Bcl-XL level did not show significant alteration by formaldehyde treatment. In contrast, the BA treatment reversed the formaldehyde-induced alteration in A549 cell lines. Consequently, BA exhibited a protective effect in A549 cell line against formaldehyde-induced lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, it ameliorated the antioxidant status and mRNA expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines.

A potential involvement of plant systemic response in initiating genotoxicity of Ag-nanoparticles in Arabidopsis thaliana

The extensive availability of engineered nanomaterials in global markets has led to the release of substantial amounts of nanoparticles (NP) into atmosphere, water body and soil, yielding both beneficial and harmful effects in plant systems. The NP are mainly aggregated onto the surface of plant roots and leaves exposed and only slightly transported into other tissues with a low rate of internalization. This raises a question of whether plant systemic response is involved in the induction of biological effects of NP. To address this, model plant Arabidopsis thaliana were root exposed to low concentrations of Ag-NP of two particle sizes (10-nm and 60-nm), and expressions of homologous recombination (HR)-related genes and the alleviation of transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) in aerial leafy tissues were examined as genotoxic endpoints. Results showed that exposure of roots to two sizes of Ag-NP up-regulated expressions of HR genes, and reactivated TGS-silenced repetitive elements in aerial tissues. These effects were blocked by the impairment in the salicylic acid signal pathway, indicating a potential involvement of plant systemic response in the induction of Ag-NP genotoxicity. This is further supported by ICP-MS analysis, in which the Ag content in aerial tissues was not significantly changed by root exposure to 10-nm Ag-NP. Although a significant increase in the Ag content in aerial tissues was observed after root exposure to 60-nm Ag-NP, its genotoxic effects had no obvious difference from that by 10-nm Ag-NP exposure, also suggesting that the genotoxicity might be mainly induced via plant systemic response, at least in the experiments of root exposure to Ag-NP.

Selenium pretreatment attenuates formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity in A549 cell lines

Formaldehyde is a major industrial chemical and has been extensively used in the manufacture of synthetic resins and chemicals. Numerous studies indicate that formaldehyde can induce various genotoxic effects in vitro and in vivo. A recent study indicated that formaldehyde impaired antioxidant cellular defences and enhanced lipid peroxidation. Selenium is an important antioxidant. We hypothesized that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation are involved in formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity in human lung cancer cell line, A549 cell line. To test the hypothesis, we investigated the effects of selenium on formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity in A549 cell lines. The results indicated that exposure to formaldehyde showed the induction of DNA–protein cross-links (DPCs). Formaldehyde significantly increased the malondialdehyde levels and decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. In addition, the activations of necrosis factor-κB (NF-κB) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) were induced by the formaldehyde treatment. The pretreatment with selenium counteracted the formaldehyde-induced oxidative stress, ameliorated DPCs and attenuated the activation of NF-κB and AP-1 in A549 cell lines. All the results suggested that the pretreatment with selenium attenuated the formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity through its ROS scavenging and anti-DPCs effects in A549 cell lines.

Protective effect of curcumin against formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity in A549 Cell Lines

Formaldehyde is ubiquitous in the environment. It is known to be a genotoxic substance. We hypothesized that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation are involved in formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity in human lung cancer cell lines A549. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of antioxidant on formaldehyde-induced genotoxicity in A549 Cell Lines. Formaldehyde exposure caused induction of DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs). Curcumin is an important antioxidant. Formaldehyde significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity. In addition, the activation of NF-κB and AP-1 were induced by formaldehyde treatment. Pretreatment with curcumin counteracted formaldehyde-induced oxidative stress, ameliorated DPCs and attenuated activation of NF-κB and AP-1 in A549 Cell Lines. These results, taken together, suggest that formaldehyde induced genotoxicity through its ROS and lipid peroxidase activity and caused DPCs effects in A549 cells.

Homologous recombination in Arabidopsis seeds along the track of energetic carbon ions

Heavy ion irradiation has been used as radiotherapy of deep-seated tumors, and is also an inevitable health concern for astronauts in space mission. Unlike photons such as X-rays and γ-rays, a high linear energy transfer (LET) heavy ion has a varying energy distribution along its track. Therefore, it is important to determine the correlation of biological effects with the Bragg curve energy distribution of heavy ions. In this study, a continuous biological tissue equivalent was constructed using a layered cylinder of Arabidopsis seeds, which was irradiated with carbon ions of 87.5MeV/nucleon. The position of energy loss peak in the seed pool was determined with CR-39 track detectors. The mutagenic effect in vivo along the path of carbon ions was investigated with the seeds in each layer as an assay unit, which corresponded to a given position in physical Bragg curve. Homologous recombination frequency (HRF), expression level of AtRAD54 gene, germination rate of seeds, and survival rate of young seedlings were used as checking endpoints, respectively. Our results showed that Arabidopsis S0 and S1 plants exhibited significant increases in HRF compared to their controls, and the expression level of AtRAD54 gene in S0 plants was significantly up-regulated. The depth-biological effect curves for HRF and the expression of AtRAD54 gene were not consistent with the physical Bragg curve. Differently, the depth-biological effect curves for the developmental endpoints matched generally with the physical Bragg curve. The results suggested a different response pattern of various types of biological events to heavy ion irradiation. It is also interesting that except for HRF in S0 plants, the depth-biological effect curves for each biological endpoint were similar for 5Gy and 30Gy of carbon irradiation.

Use of LC-MS/MS and stable isotopes to differentiate hydroxymethyl and methyl DNA adducts from formaldehyde and nitrosodimethylamine

Formaldehyde is a known human and animal carcinogen that forms DNA adducts, and causes mutations. While there is widespread exposure to formaldehyde in the environment, formaldehyde is also an essential biochemical in all living cells. The presence of both endogenous and exogenous sources of formaldehyde makes it difficult to develop exposure-specific DNA biomarkers. Furthermore, chemicals such as nitrosodimethylamine form one mole of formaldehyde for every mole of methylating agent, raising questions about potential cocarcinogenesis. Formaldehyde-induced hydroxymethyl DNA adducts are not stable and need to be reduced to stable methyl adducts for detection, which adds another layer of complexity to identifying the origins of these adducts. In this study, highly sensitive mass spectrometry methods and isotope labeled compounds were used to differentiate between endogenous and exogenous hydroxymethyl and methyl DNA adducts. We demonstrate that N(2)-hydroxymethyl-dG is the primary DNA adduct formed in cells following formaldehyde exposure. In addition, we show that alkylating agents induce methyl adducts at N(2)-dG and N(6)-dA positions, which are identical to the reduced forms of hydroxymethyl adducts arising from formaldehyde. The use of highly sensitive LC-MS/MS and isotope labeled compounds for exposure solves these challenges and provides mechanistic insights on the formation and role of these DNA adducts.