Fullerene C60 Protects Against Intestinal Injury from Deoxynivalenol Toxicity by Improving Antioxidant Capacity

CRISPR-activation screen identified potassium channels for protection against mycotoxins through cell cycle progression and mitochondrial function

Zearalenone (ZEA) exposure has carcinogenic effects on human and animal health by exhibiting intestinal, hepatic, and renal toxicity. At present, the underlying mechanisms on how ZEA induces apoptosis and damage to tissues still remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify genes that modulate the cellular response to ZEA using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 screening, and further validate novel gene functions to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying particular biological processes in vivo and in vitro. Two ZEA-resistant cell lines, designated Ov-KCNJ4 and Ov-KCNJ12, were yielded by CRISPR activation screening which had significant changes in ZEA resistance and growth rates. Results showed that ZEA could interact with the cell membrane proteins KCNJ4 and KCNJ12, inducing cell cycle arrest, disruption of DNA replication and base excision repair. Overexpression of KCNJ4 and KCNJ12 was involved in ZEA resistance by regulating cell cycle to neutralize toxicity, sustaining mitochondrial morphology and function via attenuating the damage from oxidative stress in the KCNJ4-mitoK_ATP pathway. In vivo experiments showed that AAV-KCNJ4 delivery significantly improved ZEA-induced renal impairment and increased antioxidative enzyme activity by improving mitochondrial function. Our findings suggest that increasing potassium channel levels may be a putative therapeutic target for mycotoxin-induced damage.

Cytotoxicity of Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene, Fullerenes, and Dots

The cytotoxicity of carbon nanomaterials is a very important issue for microorganisms, animals, and humans. Here, we discuss the issues of cytotoxicity of carbon nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes, graphene, fullerene, and dots. Cytotoxicity issues, such as cell viability and drug release, are considered. The main part of the review is dedicated to important cell viability issues. They are presented for A549 human melanoma, E. coli, osteosarcoma, U2-OS, SAOS-2, MG63, U87, and U118 cell lines. Then, important drug release issues are discussed. Bioimaging results are shown here to illustrate the use of carbon derivatives as markers in any type of imaging used in vivo/in vitro. Finally, perspectives of the field are presented. The important issue is single-cell viability. It can allow a correlation of the functionality of organelles of single cells with the development of cancer. Such organelles are mitochondria, nuclei, vacuoles, and reticulum. It allows for finding biochemical evidence of cancer prevention in single cells. The development of investigation methods for single-cell level detection of viability stimulates the cytotoxicity investigative field. The development of single-cell microscopy is needed to improve the resolution and accuracy of investigations. The importance of cytotoxicity is drug release. It is important to control the amount of drug that is released. This is performed with pH, temperature, and electric stimulation. Further development of drug loading and bioimaging is important to decrease the cytotoxicity of carbon nanomaterials. We hope that this review is useful for researchers from all disciplines across the world.

Ferroptosis is involved in deoxynivalenol-induced intestinal damage in pigs

BACKGROUND

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a widespread issue for feed and food safety, leading to animal and human health risks. The objective of this study was to determine whether ferroptosis is involved in DON-induced intestinal injury in piglets. Three groups of 21-day-old male weanling piglets (n = 7/group) were fed a control diet, or diet adding 1.0 or 3.0 mg DON/kg. At week 4, serum and small intestines were collected to assay for biochemistry, histology, redox status and ferroptosis-related genes expression. In addition, the involvement of ferroptosis and the role of FTL gene in DON-induced cell death were further verified in the IPEC-J2 cells.

RESULTS

Compared to the control, dietary supplementation of DON at 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg induced different degrees of damage in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, and increased (P < 0.05) serum lipopolysaccharide concentration by 46.2%-51.4%. Dietary DON supplementation at 1.0 and (or) 3.0 mg/kg increased (P < 0.05) concentrations of malondialdehyde (17.4%-86.5%) and protein carbonyl by 33.1%-92.3% in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. In addition, dietary supplemented with DON upregulated (P < 0.05) ferroptotic gene (DMT1) and anti-ferroptotic genes (FTL and FTH1), while downregulated (P < 0.05) anti-ferroptotic genes (FPN, FSP1 and CISD1) in the duodenum of the porcine. Furthermore, the in vitro study has demonstrated that deferiprone, a potent ferroptotic inhibitor, mitigated (P < 0.05) DON-induced cytotoxicity in porcine small intestinal IPEC-J2 cells. Additionally, deferiprone prevented or alleviated (P < 0.05) the dysregulation of ferroptosis-related genes (ACSL4 and FTL) by DON in IPEC-J2 cells. Moreover, specific siRNA knockdown FTL gene expression compromised the DON-induced cell death in IPEC-J2 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, this study revealed that ferroptosis is involved in DON-induced intestinal damage in porcine, and sheds a new light on the toxicity of DON to piglets.

Reactive-oxygen-species-scavenging nanomaterials for resolving inflammation

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate multiple physiological functions; however, the over-accumulation of ROS causes premature aging and/or death and is associated with various inflammatory conditions. Nevertheless, there are limited clinical treatment options that are currently available. The good news is that owing to the considerable advances in nanoscience, multiple types of nanomaterials with unique ROS-scavenging abilities that influence the temporospatial dynamic behaviors of ROS in biological systems have been developed. This has led to the emergence of next-generation nanomaterial-controlled strategies aimed at ameliorating ROS-related inflammatory conditions. Accordingly, herein we reviewed recent progress in research on nanotherapy based on ROS scavenging. The underlying mechanisms of the employed nanomaterials are emphasized. Furthermore, important issues in developing cross-disciplinary nanomedicine-based strategies for ROS-based inflammatory conditions are discussed. Our review of this increasing interdisciplinary field will benefit ongoing studies and clinical applications of nanomedicine based on ROS scavenging.