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Melnikov K, Kucharíková S, Bárdyová Z, Botek N, Kaiglová A. Applications of a powerful model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to study the neurotoxicity induced by heavy metals and pesticides. Physiol Res 2023; 72:149-166. [PMID: 37159850 PMCID: PMC10226405 DOI: 10.33549/physiolres.934977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The expansion of industry and the use of pesticides in agriculture represent one of the major causes of environmental contamination. Unfortunately, individuals and animals are exposed to these foreign and often toxic substances on a daily basis. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor the impact of such chemicals on human health. Several in vitro studies have addressed this issue, but it is difficult to explore the impact of these compounds on living organisms. A nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has become a useful alternative to animal models mainly because of its transparent body, fast growth, short life cycle, and easy cultivation. Furthermore, at the molecular level, there are significant similarities between humans and C. elegans. These unique features make it an excellent model to complement mammalian models in toxicology research. Heavy metals and pesticides, which are considered environmental contaminants, are known to have affected the locomotion, feeding behavior, brood size, growth, life span, and cell death of C. elegans. Today, there are increasing numbers of research articles dedicated to this topic, of which we summarized the most recent findings dedicated to the effect of heavy metals, heavy metal mixtures, and pesticides on the well-characterized nervous system of this nematode.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Melnikov
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Health Care and Social Work, University in Trnava, Slovakia.
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Agarrayua DA, Silva AC, Saraiva NR, Soares AT, Aschner M, Avila DS. Neurotoxicology of metals and metallic nanoparticles in Caenorhabditis elegans. ADVANCES IN NEUROTOXICOLOGY 2023; 9:107-148. [PMID: 37384197 PMCID: PMC10306323 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ant.2023.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Araujo Agarrayua
- Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology in Caenorhabditis elegans, Federal University of Pampa, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - Aline Castro Silva
- Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology in Caenorhabditis elegans, Federal University of Pampa, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - Nariani Rocha Saraiva
- Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology in Caenorhabditis elegans, Federal University of Pampa, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - Ana Thalita Soares
- Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology in Caenorhabditis elegans, Federal University of Pampa, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - Michael Aschner
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Daiana Silva Avila
- Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology in Caenorhabditis elegans, Federal University of Pampa, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences- Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
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Ferroptosis as a mechanism of non-ferrous metal toxicity. Arch Toxicol 2022; 96:2391-2417. [PMID: 35727353 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-022-03317-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Ferroptosis is a recently discovered form of regulated cell death, implicated in multiple pathologies. Given that the toxicity elicited by some metals is linked to alterations in iron metabolism and induction of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, ferroptosis might be involved in such toxicity. Although direct evidence is insufficient, certain pioneering studies have demonstrated a crosstalk between metal toxicity and ferroptosis. Specifically, the mechanisms underlying metal-induced ferroptosis include induction of ferritinophagy, increased DMT-1 and TfR cellular iron uptake, mitochondrial dysfunction and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mitoROS) generation, inhibition of Xc-system and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) activity, altogether resulting in oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. In addition, there is direct evidence of the role of ferroptosis in the toxicity of arsenic, cadmium, zinc, manganese, copper, and aluminum exposure. In contrast, findings on the impact of cobalt and nickel on ferroptosis are scant and nearly lacking altogether for mercury and especially lead. Other gaps in the field include limited studies on the role of metal speciation in ferroptosis and the critical cellular targets. Although further detailed studies are required, it seems reasonable to propose even at this early stage that ferroptosis may play a significant role in metal toxicity, and its modulation may be considered as a potential therapeutic tool for the amelioration of metal toxicity.
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Pei C, Sun L, Zhao Y, Ni S, Nie Y, Wu L, Xu A. Enhanced Uptake of Arsenic Induces Increased Toxicity with Cadmium at Non-Toxic Concentrations on Caenorhabditis elegans. TOXICS 2022; 10:toxics10030133. [PMID: 35324758 PMCID: PMC8952731 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10030133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) are widely distributed pollutants that co-exist in the environment; however, their joint toxicity on living organisms is still largely unknown. In this study, we explored the joint toxicity of concurrent exposure to Cd and different As species at low concentrations on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in comparison to single exposures. Endpoints such as germ cell apoptosis, the number of oocytes, brood size, and the life span were employed to evaluate the combined effects of Cd and As on exposed C. elegans from L3 or L4 stages. Our results showed that concurrent exposure to non-toxic concentrations of Cd and As caused the synergy of reproductive and developmental toxicity. The presence of Cd promoted the accumulation of As in both germline and intestine detected by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Although a conversion of As(III) to As(V) was detected as dependent on pH according to the microenvironment of the intestine in the worm, there was no significant difference of toxicity in C. elegans concurrently exposed to Cd and different As species. Using loss-of-function mutant strains, As was deemed responsible for the enhanced joint toxicity, and in which gcs-1 played a key protective role. These data help to better evaluate the comprehensive adverse effects of concurrent exposure of heavy metals at low concentrations on living organisms in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengcheng Pei
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
| | - Lingyan Sun
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
| | - Yanan Zhao
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
| | - Shenyao Ni
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
| | - Yaguang Nie
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
- Correspondence: (Y.N.); (A.X.)
| | - Lijun Wu
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
| | - An Xu
- Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; (C.P.); (L.S.); (Y.Z.); (S.N.); (L.W.)
- Key Laboratory of High Magnetic Field and Ion Beam Physical Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Control Technology, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China
- Correspondence: (Y.N.); (A.X.)
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Bovio F, Melchioretto P, Forcella M, Fusi P, Urani C. Cadmium promotes glycolysis upregulation and glutamine dependency in human neuronal cells. Neurochem Int 2021; 149:105144. [PMID: 34303722 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Cadmium is a widespread pollutant, which easily accumulates inside the human body with an estimated half-life of 25-30 years. Many data strongly suggest that it may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. In this paper we investigated cadmium effect on human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells metabolism. Results showed that, although SH-SY5Y cells already showed hyperactivated glycolysis, cadmium further increased basal glycolytic rate. Both glycolytic capacity and reserve were also increased following cadmium administration, endowing the cells with a higher compensatory glycolysis when oxidative phosphorylation was inhibited. Cadmium administration also led to an increase in glycolytic ATP production rate, paralleled by a decrease in ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation, due to an impairment of mitochondrial respiration. Moreover, following cadmium administration, mitochondria increased their dependency on glutamine, while decreasing lipids oxidation. On the whole, our data show that cadmium exacerbates the Warburg effect and promotes the use of glutamine as a substrate for lipid biosynthesis. Although increased glutamine consumption leads to an increase in glutathione level, this cannot efficiently counteract cadmium-induced oxidative stress, leading to membrane lipid peroxidation. Oxidative stress represents a serious threat for neuronal cells and our data confirm glutathione as a key defense mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Bovio
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 2, 20126, Milan, Italy.
| | - Pasquale Melchioretto
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126, Milan, Italy.
| | - Matilde Forcella
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 2, 20126, Milan, Italy.
| | - Paola Fusi
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; Integrated Models for Prevention and Protection in Environmental and Occupational Health, (MISTRAL), Interuniversity Research Center, Italy.
| | - Chiara Urani
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126, Milan, Italy; Integrated Models for Prevention and Protection in Environmental and Occupational Health, (MISTRAL), Interuniversity Research Center, Italy.
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