Genetic toxicology of metal compounds: An examination of appropriate cellular models †

Bacterial systems have not had success predicting metal carcinogenicity. Hypotheses explaining this failure are examined. Using a broad genetic endpoint, λ prophage induction, under sub‐toxic growing conditions, genotoxicity is seen for compounds of chromium, manganese, lead, molybdenum and tungsten. Copper, manganese, arsenic and molybdenum compounds enhanced UV mutagenesis in E. coli WP2.

The toxicity of metal compounds to cultured mammalian cells correlates well with rat oral LD₅₀ values. Whereas insolubility can present problems in bacterial studies, concentrations of metal compounds toxic to mammalian cells can be determined even in the presence of precipitate, and sometimes [Pb(NO₃)₂, BaCl₂ and BeCl₂] occurs only in its presence. PbS and MnS, which are insoluble, are much more toxic than the more soluble compounds Pb(NO₃)₂ and MnCl₂. These results demonstrate the importance of cellular phagocytosis of insoluble metal compounds as a factor in studying the toxicity and genotoxicity of metal compounds.     

Uptake of cadmium into cells in culture∗

Cadmium has been recognized as pollutant of the environment for many years and numerous studies on its toxic effects have been carried out. Little, however, is known about its metabolic behaviour e.g. why the metal is accumulated so extremely rapidly into the organs of men and animals. Since the study of the individual metabolic steps is very difficult in vivo cell cultures may be used to obtain first indications of what happens in the whole animal.

We used CHO cells in monolayer culture to study the conditions under which the uptake of cadmium occurs. From serumfree medium the metal is accumulated rapidly in the cells. The uptake is inhibited very strongly by the presence of serum or albumin. Accumulation occurs against a concentration gradient and is dependent on the incubation temperature. Below 10°C no cadmium uptake is seen. Several substances which are known to affect cell metabolism have been used to influence cadmium accumulation. Neither inhibitors of energy production nor microtubule or microfilament disruptors showed any substantial effect. In contrast SH‐group blocking agents markedly reduced cadmium uptake.

The results show that cadmium uptake does not occur by passive diffusion but by some active mechanism.     

持久性有机污染物致胰岛素抵抗及其潜在病理机制

胰岛素抵抗综合症目前在全世界以惊人的速度增长,成为21世纪公共健康的严重挑战。多例流行病学调查结果已经显示持久性有机污染物与胰岛素抵抗的关联。胰岛素信号传递受损是胰岛素抵抗的本质原因。考察机制发现,可在机体脂肪组织中贮存积累的持久性有机污染物,如二噁英、多氯联苯、溴代阻燃剂、有机氯农药等,可干扰细胞内受体如环芳烃受体、过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体、导致氧化损伤、线粒体功能障碍并通过慢性炎症介质TNFα的释放及其相关信号调控;进而可能阻扰胰岛素信号传递中关键蛋白InsR或IRS-1/2正常磷酸化,导致胰岛素抵抗。     

活性氧参与多壁碳纳米管诱导的RAW264.7细胞毒性

碳纳米管以其独特的结构和性能,在生物医药和电子等领域广泛应用,而其生态安全性也成为科学界关注的焦点。为探究多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)诱导的细胞毒性机制,将小鼠肺泡巨噬细胞(RAW264.7)暴露于6个浓度梯度(0、25、50、100、150和200μg.mL-1)的MWCNTs中,应用噻唑蓝(MTT)法测定细胞存活率,用2’,7’-二氯荧光素二乙酸(DCFH-DA)荧光染色法测定细胞内活性氧的生产量,用流式细胞方法测定MWCNTs对细胞周期的影响。同时使用抗氧化剂氮乙酰半胱氨酸(NAC)验证MWCNTs诱导的细胞氧化损伤的作用机理。结果显示,MWCNTs对RAW264.7的细胞毒性呈剂量依赖性。暴露于不同浓度的MWCNTs(25、50、100、150和200μg.mL-1)下24h后,细胞活力分别为对照的74%、62%、59%、51%和45%。MWCNTs对RAW264.7的周期阻滞作用主要发生在G0/G1期。200μg.mL-1的MWCNTs处理3h后活性氧较对照组上升6.6倍。NAC对MWCNTs细胞毒作用有明显的抑制作用,且NAC能减弱MWCNTs对RAW264.7的细胞周期阻滞作用。研究表明,活性氧能够介导MWCNTs对小鼠巨噬细胞RAW264.7的损伤,并且MWCNTS通过细胞周期G0/G1期的阻滞,诱导细胞凋亡。     

Deliberation and ecological democracy: from citizen to global system

ABSTRACT

Ecological democracy confronts a challenge of not only reconciling democracy and ecology, but doing so where human activities and their environmental consequences are increasingly global. Deliberative scholars dealing with these issues emphasise reflexive governance, involving the contestation of discourses, as part of the solution, mostly aimed at high-level institutions and intergovernmental cooperation. However, even at this level democracy demands responsiveness to the citizen. To this end, the paper explores citizen-level deliberation to inform possibilities for ecological democracy writ large, via a growing literature on deliberative governance and polycentrism. Different system levels are connected via ecologically reflexive capacity and the discursive conditions under which it is enhanced, including in small-scale minipublics. This understanding informs mechanisms for ‘scaling up’ deliberative quality to the wider public sphere via regulating the manipulation of public discourse. Minipublic deliberation, properly harnessed, can serve to decontaminate public debate of anti-reflexive strategic arguments and reshape public discourse. Such anti-reflexive strategies seek to shape the public will, specifically by de-emphasising ecology via intuitive arguments that short-cut public reasoning. Acting as discursive regulatory trustees, minipublics can improve reflexivity in the wider system via a nested polycentric approach that discursively connects citizens’ deliberation to the global system both horizontally and vertically.     

Oxidative and genotoxic effects of bisphenol A on primary gill cell culture of Lake Van Fish (Alburnus tarichi Güldenstädt, 1814)

Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey. The lake limits lifespan due to its high pH and brackish water. For this reason, only a single species of fish (Van Fish) is living in the lake that has been adapted to these conditions. In the present study, we investigated the total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), malondialdehyde (MDA) level and DNA damage effect of bisphenol A (BPA) (10^?7, 10^?6 and 10^?5?M) on primary gill cell culture of Van Fish for 24 and 48?h of incubation periods. TAS levels were not changed when compared to those of the control group, but TOS levels were decreased in both 24 and 48?h. The MDA level increased only at the highest concentration (10^?5) at the end of 12 and 24?h (p?.05). DNA damage increased only at the 10^?5?M concentration after 48?h. At the end of the experiment, BPA exposure caused lipid peroxidation and genotoxic effect. These results indicate that high levels of BPA exposure induced oxidative stress and DNA damage by time- and concentration-dependent fashion in the gill cell culture of Van Fish. Gill cell culture is a useful model for the rapid identification of the harmful effects of chemicals in the aquatic environment.     

Epigenetic effect of long-term bisphenol A exposure on human breast adenocarcinoma cells

In this research, epigenetic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were analyzed. Genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression were analyzed in MCF-7 cells exposed to BPA (10^?5 and 10^?6 mol/L for 5 weeks). No significant changes in the global level of 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine were observed. DNA methylation profiling analysis indicated that BPA exposure resulted in the hypermethylation of FOXK2, LKB1, LMX1A and CUGBP2 and the hypomethylation of PTPRN2, TRIM27, BCAS3 and ZNF423. Decreased expression of apoptosis genes (P38 and BCL2L1) and increased expression of chemokine (Cxcl2 and ccl20) were detected. Changes of these genes were speculated to affect the ERα-related cell growth as well as cell apoptosis.     

Efficient photoelectrochemical oxidation of rhodamine B on metal electrodes without photocatalyst or supporting electrolyte

We designed photoelectrochemical cells to achieve efficient oxidation of rhodamine B (RhB) without the need for photocatalyst or supporting electrolyte. RhB, the metal anode/cathode, and O₂ formed an energy-relay structure, enabling the efficient formation of O ₂ ^– species under ultraviolet illumination. In a single-compartment cell (S cell) containing a titanium (Ti) anode, Ti cathode, and 10 mg·mL^–1 RhB in water, the zero-order rate constant of the photoelectrochemical oxidation (k_PEC) of RhB was 0.049 mg·L^–1·min^–1, while those of the photochemical and electrochemical oxidations of RhB were nearly zero. k_PEC remained almost the same when 0.5 mol·L^–1 Na₂SO₄ was included in the reactive solution, regardless of the increase in the photocurrent of the S cell. The k_PEC of the illuminated anode compartment in the two-compartment cell, including a Ti anode, Ti cathode, and 10 mg·mL^–1 RhB in water, was higher than that of the S cell. These results support a simple, eco-friendly, and energysaving method to realize the efficient degradation of RhB.

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Recent advances in three typical configurations and applications of bioelectrochemical systems北大核心CSCD

As the world's freshwater resources and available energy are alarmingly decreasing, the bioelectrochemical system (BES) is a cutting-edge technology for the resolution of the resource and energy issue. Researchers have paid much attention to t he application of t he BES configuration. Based on t he brief i ntroduction of m icrobial f uel cell a nd m icrobial electrolytic cell structure, principles, and domestic and foreign research, the BES and its influencing factors are introduced, specifically including: microbial activity, electrode materials, and configuration. Three important aspects (i.e., the electrode chamber, the reaction chamber, and micro-sensor) are summarized, and the advantages and disadvantages of single-electrode and multi-electrode chambers are compared, based on the microbial desalination cell. Microbial electrolysis desalination cell: Microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell have been discussed to introduce increasing reaction chamber configuration; this review focuses on the research of BES monitoring with regards to biochemical oxygen demand. The potential applications of the research progress are explored. The results show that the configuration of multi-chamber microbial fuel cell is complex and its efficiency is low, while the single chamber configuration is advantageous. The reaction chamber added is mainly aimed at desalination, and the study of the desalination pool still needs to be focused on optimizing the cation exchange membrane to maintain the anode pH balance and reduce the air cathode dissolved oxygen. Microbial electrode sensor can be applied in more areas, and its sensitivity and long-term stability need to be further improved. However, there is relatively less research on the abundance and activity of electricigen communities; the configurations and scopes of application of BES are still the research priority. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Electrochemical determination of anaerobic microbial decay coefficients

The biokinetics of attached and suspended bacteria are an essential component of activated sludge models, anaerobic digestion models and biofilm models. These parameters are often assumed or “confirmed” based on the goodness-of-fit of the bioprocess models. Using a microbial fuel cell with a baffled reactor chamber, the attached- and mixed-growth microbial decay coefficients were evaluated under anaerobic conditions. The capability for real-time voltage recording allows easy and accurate measurement of the anaerobic microbial decay coefficients (b_L, lysis-regrowth approach), which were determined to be 0.11 ± 0.01 and 0.15 ± 0.01 d⁻¹ for attached (to anode) and mixed (present in the anode chamber) growth microorganisms, respectively. The corresponding half-saturation constants using glucose as a substrate were 204 ± 10 and 123 ± 1 mg COD l⁻¹. Hence, like an oxygen uptake rate-based approach to measure the microbial kinetics under aerobic conditions, the electrochemical recording provides an attractive method to measure anaerobic microbial decay coefficients.