scholarly journals Naturally occurring mixtures of Alternaria toxins: anti-estrogenic and genotoxic effects in vitro

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (10) ◽  
pp. 3021-3031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Aichinger ◽  
Franziska Krüger ◽  
Hannes Puntscher ◽  
Karin Preindl ◽  
Benedikt Warth ◽  
...  

Abstract Alternaria molds can produce a variety of different mycotoxins, often resulting in food contamination with chemical mixtures, posing a challenge for risk assessment. Some of these metabolites possess estrogenic properties, an effect whose toxicological relevance is questioned in the light of the strong genotoxic and cytotoxic properties of co-occurring toxins. Thus, we tested a complex extract from A. alternata for estrogenic properties in Ishikawa cells. By assessing alkaline phosphatase activity, we did not observe estrogen receptor (ER) activation at non-cytotoxic concentrations (≤ 10 µg/ml). Furthermore, an extract stripped of highly genotoxic perylene quinones also did not mediate estrogenic effects, despite diminished genotoxic properties in the comet assay (≥ 10 µg/ml). Interestingly, both extracts impaired the estrogenicity of 17β-estradiol (E2) at non-cytotoxic concentrations (5–10 µg/ml), indicating anti-estrogenic effects which could not be explained by the presence of known mycoestrogens. A mechanism for this unexpected result might be the activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) by Alternaria metabolites, as indicated by the induction of CYP1A1 transcription. While a direct influence on the metabolism of E2 could not be confirmed by LC–MS/MS, literature describing a direct interplay of the AhR with estrogenic pathways points to a corresponding mode of action. Taken together, the present study indicates AhR-mediated anti-estrogenic effects as a novel mechanism of naturally co-occurring Alternaria toxin mixtures. Furthermore, our results confirm their genotoxic activity and raise questions about the contribution of still undiscovered metabolites to toxicological properties.

2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Lemini ◽  
Martha Medina ◽  
María E. Avila ◽  
Pablo Cruz-Lemini ◽  
Enrique Canchola ◽  
...  

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1511-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renqin Duan ◽  
Weston Porter ◽  
Ismael Samudio ◽  
Carrie Vyhlidal ◽  
Michael Kladde ◽  
...  

Abstract 17β-Estradiol (E2) induced c-fos protooncogene mRNA levels in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, and maximal induction was observed within 1 h after treatment. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) inhibited the E2-induced response within 2 h. The molecular mechanism of this response was further investigated using pFC2-CAT, a construct containing a −1400 to +41 sequence from the human c-fos protooncogene linked to a bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. In MCF-7 cells transiently transfected with pFC2-CAT, 10 nm E2 induced an 8.5-fold increase of CAT activity, and cotreatment with 10 nm TCDD decreased this response by more than 45%. α-Naphthoflavone, an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) antagonist, blocked the inhibitory effects of TCDD; moreover, the inhibitory response was not observed in variant Ah-nonresponsive MCF-7 cells, suggesting that the AhR complex was required for estrogen receptor cross-talk. The E2-responsive sequence (−1220 to −1155) in the c-fos gene promoter contains two putative core pentanucleotide dioxin-responsive elements (DREs) at− 1206 to −1202 and −1163 to −1159. In transient transfection assays using wild-type and core DRE mutant constructs, the downstream core DRE (at −1163 to −1159) was identified as a functional inhibitory DRE. The results of photo-induced cross-linking, gel mobility shift, and in vitro DNA footprinting assays showed that the AhR complex interacted with the core DRE that also overlapped the E2-responsive GC-rich site (−1168 to −1161), suggesting that the mechanism for AhR-mediated inhibitory effects may be due to quenching or masking at the Sp1-binding site.


1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
D PINELLI ◽  
J DRAKE ◽  
M WILLIAMS ◽  
D CAVANAGH ◽  
J BECKER

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Lalrinzuali Sailo ◽  
◽  
Meesala Krishna Murthy ◽  
Khandayataray Pratima ◽  
Vikas Kumar Roy ◽  
...  

Monosodium glutamate is naturally available non-essential amino acids, which found in naturally occurring foods and used as flavour enhancer worldwide. Monosodium glutamate is believed to be linked with diverse health problems. The aim of the study was toxic effects of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and the protective role of L-carnitine, light on the available literature from last 25 years about diverse toxicity studies which had been carried out on animal and human models. Google scholar, NCBI, PUBMED, EMBASE, Wangfang databases, and Web of Science databases were used to retrieve the available studies. MSG was linked with deleterious effects particularly in animals including induction of obesity, diabetes, hepatotoxic, neurotoxic and genotoxic effects showed in Literature. Few reports revealed increased hunger, food intake, and obesity in human subjects due to MSG consumption. Hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, and genotoxic effects of monosodium glutamate on humans carried out very limitedly. High consumption of monosodium glutamate may be linked with harmful health effects showed in available literatures. So, it is recommended to use common salt instead of MSG. Furthermore, intensive research is required to explore monosodium glutamate–related molecular and metabolic mechanisms. L-carnitine can protect from Hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, renal impairment and genotoxic effects functionally, biochemically and histopathologically with a corresponding reduction of oxidative stress.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Mariangela Marrelli ◽  
Maria Rosaria Perri ◽  
Valentina Amodeo ◽  
Francesca Giordano ◽  
Giancarlo A. Statti ◽  
...  

Photochemotherapy is one of the most interesting current therapeutic approaches for the treatment of melanoma. Different classes of naturally occurring phytochemicals demonstrated interesting photoactive properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the photocytotoxic potential of two Cachrys species from Southern Italy: C. sicula and C. libanotis (Apiaceae). The enriched-coumarin extracts were obtained from aerial parts through both traditional maceration and pressurized cyclic solid-liquid (PCSL) extraction using Naviglio extractor®. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of furanocoumarins were performed with GC-MS. The photocytotoxic effects were verified on C32 melanoma cells irradiated at a dose of 1.08 J/cm2. The apoptotic responses were also assessed. Moreover, phenolic content and the in vitro antioxidant potential were estimated. Xanthotoxin, bergapten, and isopimpinellin were identified. All the samples induced concentration-dependent photocytotoxic effects (IC50 ranging from 3.16 to 18.18 μg/mL). The C. libanotis sample obtained with Naviglio extractor® was the most effective one (IC50 = 3.16 ± 0.21 μg/mL), followed by C. sicula sample obtained with the same technique (IC50 = 8.83 ± 0.20 μg/mL). Both Cachrys samples obtained through PCSL induced up-regulation of apoptotic signals such as BAX (Bcl2-associated X protein) and PARP (poly ADP-ribose polymerase) cleavage. Moreover, these samples proved to be more photoactive, giving a greater upregulation of p21 protein in the presence of UVA radiation. Obtained results suggest that investigated species could be promising candidates for further investigations aimed to find new potential drugs for the photochemotherapy of skin cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e002383
Author(s):  
Jin-Li Wei ◽  
Si-Yu Wu ◽  
Yun-Song Yang ◽  
Yi Xiao ◽  
Xi Jin ◽  
...  

PurposeRegulatory T cells (Tregs) heavily infiltrate triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and their accumulation is affected by the metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells. In the present study, we sought to identify cancer cell-intrinsic metabolic modulators correlating with Tregs infiltration in TNBC.Experimental designUsing the RNA-sequencing data from our institute (n=360) and the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium TNBC cohort (n=320), we calculated the abundance of Tregs in each sample and evaluated the correlation between gene expression levels and Tregs infiltration. Then, in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to verify the correlation and explore the underlying mechanism.ResultsWe revealed that GTP cyclohydrolase 1 (GCH1) expression was positively correlated with Tregs infiltration and high GCH1 expression was associated with reduced overall survival in TNBC. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that GCH1 increased Tregs infiltration, decreased apoptosis, and elevated the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)-positive fraction. Metabolomics analysis indicated that GCH1 overexpression reprogrammed tryptophan metabolism, resulting in L-5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) accumulation in the cytoplasm accompanied by kynurenine accumulation and tryptophan reduction in the supernatant. Subsequently, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, activated by 5-HTP, bound to the promoter of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and thus enhanced the transcription of IDO1. Furthermore, the inhibition of GCH1 by 2,4-diamino-6-hydroxypyrimidine (DAHP) decreased IDO1 expression, attenuated tumor growth, and enhanced the tumor response to PD-1 blockade immunotherapy.ConclusionsTumor-cell-intrinsic GCH1 induced immunosuppression through metabolic reprogramming and IDO1 upregulation in TNBC. Inhibition of GCH1 by DAHP serves as a potential immunometabolic strategy in TNBC.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Zofia Łapińska ◽  
Michał Dębiński ◽  
Anna Szewczyk ◽  
Anna Choromańska ◽  
Julita Kulbacka ◽  
...  

Estrogens (Es) play a significant role in the carcinogenesis and progression of ovarian malignancies. Depending on the concentration, Es may have a protective or toxic effect on cells. Moreover, they can directly or indirectly affect the activity of membrane ion channels. In the presented study, we investigated in vitro the effectiveness of the ovarian cancer cells (MDAH-2774) pre-incubation with 17β-estradiol (E2; 10 µM) in the conventional chemotherapy (CT) and electrochemotherapy (ECT) with cisplatin or calcium chloride. We used three different protocols of electroporation including microseconds (µsEP) and nanoseconds (nsEP) range. The cytotoxic effect of the applied treatment was examined by the MTT assay. We used fluorescent staining and holotomographic imaging to observe morphological changes. The immunocytochemical staining evaluated the expression of the caspase-12. The electroporation process’s effectiveness was analyzed by a flow cytometer using the Yo-Pro™-1 dye absorption assay. We found that pre-incubation of ovarian cancer cells with 17β-estradiol may effectively enhance the chemo- and electrochemotherapy with cisplatin and calcium chloride. At the same time, estradiol reduced the effectiveness of electroporation, which may indicate that the mechanism of increasing the effectiveness of ECT by E2 is not related to the change of cell membrane permeability.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 3005
Author(s):  
Kanchan Bhardwaj ◽  
Ana Sanches Silva ◽  
Maria Atanassova ◽  
Rohit Sharma ◽  
Eugenie Nepovimova ◽  
...  

Conifers have long been recognized for their therapeutic potential in different disorders. Alkaloids, terpenes and polyphenols are the most abundant naturally occurring phytochemicals in these plants. Here, we provide an overview of the phytochemistry and related commercial products obtained from conifers. The pharmacological actions of different phytochemicals present in conifers against bacterial and fungal infections, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are also reviewed. Data obtained from experimental and clinical studies performed to date clearly underline that such compounds exert promising antioxidant effects, being able to inhibit cell damage, cancer growth, inflammation and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, an attempt has been made with the intent to highlight the importance of conifer-derived extracts for pharmacological purposes, with the support of relevant in vitro and in vivo experimental data. In short, this review comprehends the information published to date related to conifers’ phytochemicals and illustrates their potential role as drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Celma ◽  
Geeta Mandava ◽  
Agneta Oskarsson ◽  
Juan Vicente Sancho ◽  
Lubertus Bijlsma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Fresh water bodies represent less than 1% of overall amount of water on earth and ensuring their quality and sustainability is pivotal. Although several campaigns have been performed to monitor the occurrence of micropollutants by means of chemical analysis, this might not cover the whole set of chemicals present in the sample nor the potential toxic effects of mixtures of natural and anthropogenic chemicals. In this sense, by selecting relevant toxicity endpoints when performing in vitro bioanalysis, effect-based methodologies can be of help to perform a comprehensive assessment of water quality and reveal biological activities relevant to adverse health effects. However, no prior bioanalytical study was performed in wetland water samples from the Spanish Mediterranean coastline. Methods Eleven samples from relevant water bodies from the Spanish Mediterranean coastline were collected to monitor water quality on 8 toxicity endpoints. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), androgenicity (AR+ and AR−), estrogenicity (ER+ and ER−), oxidative stress response (Nrf2) and vitamin D receptor (VDR+ and VDR−) reporter gene assays were evaluated. Results AhR was the reporter gene assay showing a more frequent response over the set of samples (activated by 9 out of 11 samples), with TCDD-eq in the range 7.7–22.2 pM. For AR, ER and VDR assays sporadic activations were observed. Moreover, no activity was observed on the Nrf2 reporter gene assay. Wastewater and street runaway streams from Valencia could be responsible for enhanced activities in one of the water inputs in the Natural Park ‘L’Albufera’. Conclusions Water quality of relevant wetlands from the Spanish Mediterranean coastline has been evaluated. The utilization of a panel of 5 different bioassays to cover for different toxicity endpoints has demonstrated to be a good tool to assess water quality.


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