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Lima TRR, Martins AC, Pereira LC, Aschner M. Toxic Effects Induced by Diuron and Its Metabolites in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neurotox Res 2022; 40:1812-1823. [PMID: 36306114 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-022-00596-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The toxicity of diuron herbicide and its metabolites has been extensively investigated; however, their precise toxic mechanisms have yet to be fully appreciated. In this context, we evaluated the toxic mechanism of diuron, 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA) and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea (DCPMU), using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in the L1 larval stage. For this purpose, worms were acutely exposed to the test chemicals with a preliminary concentration range of 0.5 to 500 μM and first analyzed for lethality (%). Next, the highest concentration (500 μM) was considered for survival (%), reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), glutathione (GSH) and ATP levels, autophagy index, behavior, and dopaminergic neurodegeneration parameters. Interestingly, increased lethality (%) was found for all chemicals at the higher concentrations tested (100 and 500 μM), with significant differences at 500 μM DCA (p < 0.05). A decrease in the median survival was observed mainly for DCA. Although no changes were observed in RONS production, GSH levels were significantly increased upon diuron and DCA treatment, likely reflecting an attempt to restore the redox status. Moreover, diuron and its metabolites impaired ATP levels, suggesting an alteration in mitochondrial function. The latter may trigger autophagy as an adaptive survival mechanism, but this was not observed in C. elegans. Dopaminergic neurotoxicity was observed upon treatment with all the tested chemicals, but only diuron induced alterations in the worms' locomotor behavior. Combined, these results indicate that exposure to high concentrations of diuron and its metabolites elicit distinct adverse outcomes in C. elegans, and DCA in particular, plays an important role in the overall toxicity observed in this experimental model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thania Rios Rossi Lima
- Medical School - TOXICAM, UNIPEX, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Block 5 Botucatu, São Paulo, 18618-970, Brazil. .,Center for Evaluation of Environmental Impact On Human Health (TOXICAM), Medical School, Unesp, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
| | - Airton C Martins
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Lílian Cristina Pereira
- Center for Evaluation of Environmental Impact On Human Health (TOXICAM), Medical School, Unesp, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.,School of Agriculture, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, SP, Brazil
| | - Michael Aschner
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
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Lima TRR, de Oliveira Lima E, Delafiori J, Ramos Catharino R, Viana de Camargo JL, Pereira LC. Molecular signatures associated with diuron exposure on rat urothelial mitochondria. Toxicol Mech Methods 2022; 32:628-635. [PMID: 35379061 DOI: 10.1080/15376516.2022.2062271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Diuron, 3- (3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, is a worldwide used herbicide whose biotransformation gives rise to the metabolites, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea (DCPMU) and 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA). Previous studies indicate that diuron and/or its metabolites are toxic to the bladder urothelium of the Wistar rats where, under certain conditions of exposure, they may induce successively urothelial cell degeneration, necrosis, hyperplasia and eventually tumors. The hypothesis was raised that the molecular initiating event (MIE) of this Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) is the mitochondrial toxicity of those compounds. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate in vitro the metabolic alterations resulting from urothelial mitochondria isolated from male Wistar rats exposure to diuron, DCPMU and DCA at 10 and 100 µM. A non-targeted metabolomic analysis using mass spectrometry showed discriminative clustering among groups and alterations in the intensity abundance of membrane-associated molecules phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI) and phosphatidylserine (PS), in addition to methylhexanoyl-CoA and, particularly for diuron 100 µM, dehydro-L-gulonate, all of them involved in critical mitochondrial metabolism. Collectively, these data indicate the mitochondrial dysfunction as a MIE that triggers cellular damage and death observed in previous studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thania Rios Rossi Lima
- São Paulo State University (Unesp), Medical School, Botucatu.,Center for Evaluation of Environmental Impact on Human Health (TOXICAM), Unesp, Medical School, Botucatu
| | | | - Jeany Delafiori
- Innovare Biomarkers Laboratory, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas
| | - Rodrigo Ramos Catharino
- Innovare Biomarkers Laboratory, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas
| | - João Lauro Viana de Camargo
- São Paulo State University (Unesp), Medical School, Botucatu.,Center for Evaluation of Environmental Impact on Human Health (TOXICAM), Unesp, Medical School, Botucatu
| | - Lílian Cristina Pereira
- São Paulo State University (Unesp), Medical School, Botucatu.,São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Agriculture, Botucatu.,Center for Evaluation of Environmental Impact on Human Health (TOXICAM), Unesp, Medical School, Botucatu
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Eletto D, Reppucci F, Ronga A, Altieri V, Brongo S, Martinelli R, De Marco M, Marzullo L. Modulation of BAG3 expression in human normal urothelial cells by Diuron. J Cell Physiol 2020; 236:2616-2619. [PMID: 32810284 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.30016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] is a substituted urea herbicide, carcinogenic for the rat urinary bladder. It has been hypothesized that Diuron cytotoxicity, resulting in regenerative proliferation, leads to urothelial hyperplasia and, finally, to bladder tumors, but molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis have not still fully investigated. Here, we report the results of a study aimed at verifying the involvement of BAG3, an intracellular protein expressed in several tumors, in the Diuron-induced carcinogenesis. For this purpose, we analyzed the effect of Diuron on human primary urothelial cells and on human dermal fibroblasts. We found that while high concentrations of Diuron have a cytotoxic effect in human primary urothelial cells, in the same cells, noncytotoxic concentrations of the herbicide induce BAG3 expression. These findings show that BAG3 is a molecular target of Diuron and unravel the possible involvement of BAG3 protein in bladder carcinogenesis induced by the herbicide. In addition, these results suggest that BAG3 might be a potential early biomarker of damage induced by chronic exposure to Diuron.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Eletto
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy
| | - Francesca Reppucci
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy
| | - Agostino Ronga
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Altieri
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy
| | - Sergio Brongo
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy
| | - Rosanna Martinelli
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy
| | - Margot De Marco
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy.,BIOUNIVERSA s.r.l., Montoro Inf., AV, Italy
| | - Liberato Marzullo
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Schola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy.,BIOUNIVERSA s.r.l., Montoro Inf., AV, Italy
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Diuron exposure and Akt overexpression promote glioma formation through DNA hypomethylation. Clin Epigenetics 2019; 11:159. [PMID: 31727122 PMCID: PMC6854743 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-019-0759-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diuron is an environmental component listed as a likely human carcinogen. Several other studies report that diuron can be oncogenic for bladder, urothelial, skin, and mammary cells. No study mentions the putative effect of diuron on the glioma occurrence. OBJECTIVES We here wanted to investigate the effects of diuron exposure on the glioma occurrence while wishing to incriminate a putative implication of DNA methylation modulation in this process. METHODS In in vivo model of glioma, diuron exposure was firstly compared or combined with oncogenic overexpressions already known to promote gliomagenesis. ELISA quantifying the 5-methylcytosine level on DNA was performed to examine the global DNA methylation level. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and proximity ligation in situ assay were performed to identify the molecular causes of the diuron-induced changes of DNA methylation. The signatures diuron-induced changes of DNA methylation were analyzed in a cohort of 23 GBM patients. RESULTS Diuron exposure is not sufficient to promote glioma, such as the oncogenic overexpression of Akt or Ras. However, the combination of diuron exposure and Akt overexpression promotes glioma. We observed that the diuron/Akt-induced glioma is characterized by three phenotypic signatures characterizing cancer cells: a global DNA hypomethylation, a loss of sensitivity to cell death induction, and a gain of signals of immune escape. Our data associated these phenotypes with three aberrant DNA methylation signatures: the LLT1, PD-L1, and Bcl-w hypomethylations. Strikingly, we observed that these three concomitant hypomethylations were only observed in GBM patients having a potential exposure to diuron via their professional activity. CONCLUSIONS As single player, diuron is not an oncogenic of glioma, but it can participate to the glioma formation in association with other events (also devoid of oncogenic property as single player) such as Akt overexpression.
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Cohen SM. Screening for human urinary bladder carcinogens: two-year bioassay is unnecessary. Toxicol Res (Camb) 2018; 7:565-575. [PMID: 30090607 PMCID: PMC6061447 DOI: 10.1039/c7tx00294g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Screening for carcinogens in general, and for the urinary bladder specifically, traditionally involves a two-year bioassay in rodents, the results of which often do not have direct relevance to humans with respect to mode of action (MOA) and/or dose response. My proposal describes a multi-step short-term (90 day) screening process that characterizes known human urinary bladder carcinogens, and identifies those reported in rodent two-year bioassays. The initial step is screening for urothelial proliferation, by microscopy or by increased Ki-67 labeling index. If these are negative, the agent is not a urinary bladder carcinogen. If either of these is positive, an MOA and dose response analysis are performed. DNA reactivity is evaluated. If the chemical is non-DNA reactive, evaluation for cytotoxicity is performed. This involves examination of the urothelium and urine, the latter to identify the generation of urinary solids (e.g. calculi). If urinary solids are the cause of cytotoxicity, the MOA is not relevant to human cancer, but dose response becomes essential for evaluating potential toxicity to humans. If cytotoxicity occurs but no urinary solids are detected, urinary concentrations of the chemical and its metabolites are evaluated, and compared to in vitro cytotoxicity against rodent and human immortalized urothelial cell lines. Based on this process, a screen for urinary bladder carcinogenicity is reliable, and more importantly, can be based on MOA and dose response analyses useful in the overall risk assessment for possible human bladder cancer. The proposed procedure is shorter, less expensive and more relevant than the two-year bioassay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M Cohen
- Havlik-Wall Professor of Oncology , Department of Pathology and Microbiology , University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha , NE 68198-3135 , USA .
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González-Hurtado M, Rieumont-Briones J, Castro-González LM, Zumeta-Dube I, Galano A. Combined experimental–theoretical investigation on the interactions of Diuron with a urea–formaldehyde matrix: implications for its use as an “intelligent pesticide”. CHEMICAL PAPERS 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s11696-017-0245-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Toxicity of diuron in human cancer cells. Toxicol In Vitro 2015; 29:1577-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tiv.2015.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2015] [Revised: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Evaluation of early changes induced by diuron in the rat urinary bladder using different processing methods for scanning electron microscopy. Toxicology 2015; 333:100-106. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2015.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2015] [Revised: 04/01/2015] [Accepted: 04/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Ihlaseh-Catalano SM, Bailey KA, Cardoso APF, Ren H, Fry RC, Camargo JLV, Wolf DC. Dose and temporal effects on gene expression profiles of urothelial cells from rats exposed to diuron. Toxicology 2014; 325:21-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2014.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Revised: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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