Paternal Biomass Smoke Exposure in Rats Produces Behavioral and Cognitive Alterations in the Offspring

Effects of Daily Peat Smoke Exposure on Present and Next Generations

This study aimed to follow the neurotoxic effect of peat smoke on adult outbred rats and its influence on central nervous system (CNS) parameters in first-generation offspring. Under experimental conditions, exposure to peat smoke was carried out on adult male Wistar rats for 24 h. After the end of the exposure, an open field test (OFT), electroencephalography (EEG), and histological analysis of the testes and brains of smoke-exposed males were performed, after which they were mated with intact females to obtain F1 offspring. Stillbirth, neonatal mortality, and body weight at 4, 7, 14, and 21 postnatal days, as well as behavior in the OFT and EEG parameters during puberty (3 months), were assessed. The results of the examination of F0 males showed a significant increase in motor activity and anxiety in the open field test and a violation of EEG parameters. Histopathologically, peat smoke caused a sharp increase in shadow cells (homogeneous cells with pale-stained cytoplasm, in which the cell and nuclear membranes are not visualized) and degeneratively altered neurons in the brain; we found no changes in the testicles. Peat smoke exposure during preconception did not affect neonatal mortality and weight gain in F1 offspring. Adult females born to peat-smoke-exposed males showed an increase in locomotor activity, and the behavior of adult F1 males did not differ from the control. In F1 males, a statistically significant increase in slow-wave activity indices in the delta band was observed.

Indoor Air Quality Considerations for Laboratory Animals in Wildfire-Impacted Regions-A Pilot Study

Wildfire events are increasing across the globe. The smoke generated as a result of this changing fire landscape is potentially more toxic than air pollution from other ambient sources, according to recent studies. This is especially concerning for populations of humans or animals that live downwind of areas that burn frequently, given that ambient exposure to wildfire smoke cannot be easily eliminated. We hypothesized that a significant indoor air pollution risk existed for laboratory animal facilities located proximal to fire-prone areas. Here, we measured real time continuous outdoor and indoor air quality for 28 days at a laboratory animal facility located in the Rocky Mountain region. We demonstrated that during a wildfire event, the indoor air quality of this animal facility is influenced by ambient smoke events. The daily average indoor fine particulate matter value in an animal room exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's ambient annual standard 14% of the time and exceeded the World Health Organization's ambient annual guideline 71% of the time. We further show that specialized cage filtration systems are capable of mitigating air pollution penetrance and could improve an animal's microenvironment. The potential effects for laboratory animal physiology that occur in response to the exposure levels and durations measured in this study remain to be determined; yet, even acute wildfire exposure events have been previously correlated with significant differences in gene regulatory and metabolic processes in vivo. We believe these findings warrant consideration for indoor laboratory animal facility air quality monitoring and development of smoke exposure prevention and response protocols, especially among facilities located downwind of fire-prone landscapes.

Digital Technologies for Monitoring and Forecasting the Environmental Situation in Siberia

This article is dedicated to ecological monitoring of Siberia. The regional features of environmental problems are presented, and an integrated approach to the organization of digital monitoring as a tool for understanding what is happening and its forecasting is proposed. An approach to the digitalization of environmental monitoring based on digital platforms, which provide the collection, storage, and processing of large amounts of data in a distributed network of sensors, and satellite information, as well as services for modeling and forecasting, is considered. The results of digital monitoring in the Baikal natural territory are presented. This article is based on a report heard at the RAS Presidium meeting on June 22, 2021.

Alterations in CNS Functions and DNA Methylation in Rats after 24 h Exposure to Peat Smoke

The use of a developed experimental model of a natural fire made it possible to assess the consequences of 24 h exposure to peat combustion products in albino rats. Peat smoke exposure leads to behavioral disturbances in rats, characterized by an increase in locomotor activity and an increased level of anxiety. Indicators of brain bioelectrical activity of the exposed animals supported the state of anxiety and psychoemotional stress. Epigenetic changes in the blood cells of exposed animals were revealed under 24 h exposure to peat smoke, characterized by a decrease in the level of global DNA methylation.

Simulated Wildfire Smoke Significantly Alters Sperm DNA Methylation Patterns in a Murine Model

Wildfires are now a common feature of the western US, increasing in both intensity and number of acres burned over the last three decades. The effects of this changing wildfire and smoke landscape are a critical public and occupational health issue. While respiratory morbidity due to smoke exposure is a priority, evaluating the molecular underpinnings that explain recent extrapulmonary observations is necessary. Here, we use an Apoe-/- mouse model to investigate the epigenetic impact of paternal exposure to simulated wildfire smoke. We demonstrate that 40 days of exposure to smoke from Douglas fir needles induces sperm DNA methylation changes in adult mice. DNA methylation was measured by reduced representation bisulfite sequencing and varied significantly in 3353 differentially methylated regions, which were subsequently annotated to 2117 genes. The differentially methylated regions were broadly distributed across the mouse genome, but the vast majority (nearly 80%) were hypermethylated. Pathway analyses, using gene-derived and differentially methylated region-derived gene ontology terms, point to a number of developmental processes that may warrant future investigation. Overall, this study of simulated wildfire smoke exposure suggests paternal reproductive risks are possible with prolonged exposure.

Paternal and/or maternal preconception-induced neurobehavioral teratogenicity in animal and human models

Prenatal insult exposure effects on the offspring, have and are still considered the main interest of most teratological studies, while paternal and maternal preconception effects have received relatively little interest. Once thought to be a myth, paternal exposure to insults leading to numerous detrimental effects in the offspring, has been confirmed on several occasions and is gaining increased attention. These effects could be demonstrated molecularly, biochemically and/or behaviorally. Different epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed for these effects to occur, including DNA methylation, histone modification and sperm RNA transmission. Paternal insult exposure has been shown to cause several neurobehavioral and developmental defects in the offspring. Findings on parental insult exposure effects on the progeny will be discussed in this review, with the main focus being on neurobehavioral effects after parental preconceptional exposure. The exposure to the insults induced long-lasting, mostly marked, defects. A few pioneering, prevention and reversal studies were published. Interestingly, most studies were conducted on paternal exposure and, at the present state of this field, on animal models. Clinical translation remains the subsequent challenge.