scholarly journals Evaluation of Cytotoxic and Mutagenic Effects of the Synthetic Cathinones Mexedrone, α-PVP and α-PHP

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6320
Author(s):  
Monia Lenzi ◽  
Veronica Cocchi ◽  
Sofia Gasperini ◽  
Raffaella Arfè ◽  
Matteo Marti ◽  
...  

Mexedrone, α-PVP and α-PHP are synthetic cathinones. They can be considered amphetamine-like substances with a stimulating effect. Actually, studies showing their impact on DNA are totally absent. Therefore, in order to fill this gap, aim of the present work was to evaluate their mutagenicity on TK6 cells. On the basis of cytotoxicity and cytostasis results, we selected the concentrations (35–100 µM) to be used in the further analysis. We used the micronucleus (MN) as indicator of genetic damage and analyzed the MNi frequency fold increase by flow cytometry. Mexedrone demonstrated its mutagenic potential contrary to the other two compounds; we then proceeded by repeating the analyzes in the presence of extrinsic metabolic activation in order to check if it was possible to totally exclude the mutagenic capacity for α-PVP and α-PHP. The results demonstrated instead the mutagenicity of their metabolites. We then evaluated reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction as a possible mechanism at the basis of the highlighted effects but the results did not show a statistically significant increase in ROS levels for any of the tested substances. Anyway, our outcomes emphasize the importance of mutagenicity evaluation for a complete assessment of the risk associated with synthetic cathinones exposure.

1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Himmelfarb ◽  
K A Ault ◽  
D Holbrook ◽  
D A Leeber ◽  
R M Hakim

By the use of flow cytometric techniques, this prospective, randomized crossover study was designed to analyze intradialytic granulocyte reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in whole blood with complement-activating and noncomplement-activating hollow fiber membranes. Dialysis with a complement-activating membrane resulted in a 6.5-fold increase in granulocyte hydrogen peroxide production 15 min after dialysis initiation and remained significantly elevated (P < 0.01) through the first 30 min with this membrane in comparison to both predialysis values and simultaneous values with a noncomplement-activating membrane. Further studies demonstrated that blood obtained at 15 min with a complement-activating membrane generated significantly less granulocyte ROS production in response to Staphylococcus aureus incubation than blood obtained either predialysis or at the same time in dialysis with a noncomplement-activating membrane. Both complement-activating and noncomplement-activating dialysis membranes caused slightly decreased granulocyte responsiveness to phorbol myristate acetate. It was concluded that hemodialysis with complement-activating membranes results in increased granulocyte ROS production and decreased responsiveness to S. aureus challenge during the dialysis procedure. These results document the potential role of ROS in hemodialysis-associated pathology and susceptibility to infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-52
Author(s):  
N.G. Zemlianskykh ◽  
◽  
L.O. Babiychuk ◽  

Protein modifications in the membrane-cytoskeleton complex (MCC) of human erythrocytes, as well as changes in the intensity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production upon cell cryopreservation with polyethylene glycol (PEG) were investigated. The protein profile of ghosts of erythrocytes frozen with PEG has common features with both the control and cells frozen without cryoprotectant. PEG makes it possible to restrict the structural rearrangements of the main MCC proteins under the effect of extreme factors and to restrain the amount of high molecular weight polypeptide complexes induced by the protein-cross-linking reagent diamide at the control level, in contrast to cells frozen without a cryoprotectant. However, changes related to the protein peroxiredoxin 2 in ghosts of erythrocytes cryopreserved with PEG are also attributed to cells frozen without a cryoprotectant that may be associated with the activation of oxidative processes. This is evidenced by a 10-fold increase in ROS formation in erythrocytes frozen under PEG protection. Thus, upon cryopreservation of erythrocytes with PEG, certain disorders in MCC proteins may be associated with increased formation of ROS, which may contribute to the disorganization of the structural components of MCC and disrupt the stability of cryopreserved cells under physiological conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartosz Wiernicki ◽  
Hanne Dubois ◽  
Yulia Y. Tyurina ◽  
Behrouz Hassannia ◽  
Hülya Bayir ◽  
...  

Abstract Lipid peroxidation (LPO) drives ferroptosis execution. However, LPO has been shown to contribute also to other modes of regulated cell death (RCD). To clarify the role of LPO in different modes of RCD, we studied in a comprehensive approach the differential involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS), phospholipid peroxidation products, and lipid ROS flux in the major prototype modes of RCD viz. apoptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, and pyroptosis. LC-MS oxidative lipidomics revealed robust peroxidation of three classes of phospholipids during ferroptosis with quantitative predominance of phosphatidylethanolamine species. Incomparably lower amounts of phospholipid peroxidation products were found in any of the other modes of RCD. Nonetheless, a strong increase in lipid ROS levels was detected in non-canonical pyroptosis, but only during cell membrane rupture. In contrast to ferroptosis, lipid ROS apparently was not involved in non-canonical pyroptosis execution nor in the release of IL-1β and IL-18, while clear dependency on CASP11 and GSDMD was observed. Our data demonstrate that ferroptosis is the only mode of RCD that depends on excessive phospholipid peroxidation for its cytotoxicity. In addition, our results also highlight the importance of performing kinetics and using different methods to monitor the occurrence of LPO. This should open the discussion on the implication of particular LPO events in relation to different modes of RCD.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 3589-3589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savita Bhalla ◽  
Kevin David ◽  
Lauren Mauro ◽  
Sheila Prachand ◽  
Mint Sirisawad ◽  
...  

Abstract HDACi block cancer cell proliferation by mechanisms that involve epigenetic gene regulation leading to cell growth arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis. Bortezomib inhibits NFKB signaling and induces apoptosis. Furthermore, anti-tumor activity of HDACi and bortezomib both depend in part on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated pathways. Both have activity in NHL. We reasoned that these agents may be synergistic in part due to their dependence on overlapping pathways. We investigated the biology of PCI-24781, a pan-HDACi currently in clinical trials, and bortezomib both alone, and in combination, in HL (L428) and NHL cell lines (HF1, Ramos, & SUDHL4). Cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of PCI-24781 and bortezomib (0.25–2.0μM and 2.5–20nM, respectively) for 24–72 hour (hr). Apoptosis was determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) using AnnexinV-FITC/propidium iodide (AnnexinV+/PI+) staining. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by oxidation of 2′7′dichlorofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA) to DCF and detected by FACS. Downstream targets of NFKB such as NFKB1, Myc and IL-8 were measured in Ramos using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) following 24 hr incubation of cells with PCI-24781 and bortezomib alone, and in combination. Dose-dependent apoptosis was seen with PCI-24781 and bortezomib alone in all HL and NHL cell lines. IC70 (dose to achieve 70% AnnexinV+/PI+) was 1μM for PCI-24781 and 2μM for L428. With bortezomib, the IC50 was 10nM in Ramos, HF1, and SUDHL4 and 20 nM in L428. The combination of PCI-24781 and bortezomib resulted in synergistic apoptosis (combination index &lt;0.2) in all 3 NHL cell lines (IC80=0.25μM PCI-24781/5nM bortezomib) and L428 (IC80=0.5μM PCI-24781/10nM bortezomib) compared with minimal cell death using each agent alone at those concentrations. Furthermore, immunoblots of L428 and Ramos showed enhanced caspase 3 and caspase 8 cleavage with the combination of PCI-24781 and bortezomib compared to either agent alone, suggesting that the synergy seen was in part caspase-dependent. HL and NHL cell lines showed a 3- to 4-fold increase in ROS with PCI-24781 or bortezomib alone and in combination at 24hr. Moreover, we found that hyperacetylation of histone-3 and histone-4 on immunoblots of cells treated with combination PCI-2478/bortezomib was significantly increased compared to PCI-24781 alone. Finally, we found that in Ramos cells PC-24781/bortezomib together resulted in downregulation of NFKB targets NFKB1 and Myc, but not IL-8. We conclude that PCI-24781 and bortezomib are active in lymphoma cell lines and that the combination results in synergistic apoptosis. Apoptosis was accompanied by caspase activation and synergistic downregulation of the NFkB pathway. These data have important clinical implications for NHL and HL.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Júlia Trugilio Lopes ◽  
Mayara Setúbal Oliveira-Araújo ◽  
Renata Vieira Do Nascimento ◽  
Yasmin Maia Ferreira ◽  
Assis Rubens Montenegro ◽  
...  

Background: The addition of antioxidant substances to a cryoprotective solution can increase its protective capacity, shielding spermatozoa from the oxidative stress caused by the seminal cryopreservation process. However, there is no record of a seminal cryopreservation protocol of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) using antioxidants as a supplement to the cryoprotective solution. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding vitamin C, vitamin E, cysteine, and/or taurine to the seminal cryopreservation of tambaqui.Materials, Methods & Results: Pools of semen (n = 10) were diluted in cryoprotective solutions supplemented with: vitamin C (T1), vitamin E (T2), vitamin C + vitamin E (T3), cysteine (T4), taurine (T5), and taurine + cysteine (T6). The control treatment (T7) was not supplemented. Diluted semen was loaded in 0.5 mL straws, frozen in a dry-shipper, stored in a cryogenic cylinder, and then thawed in a water bath (45ºC for eight seconds). The quality of fresh and cryopreserved semen was evaluated by measuring total motility, progressive motility, curvilinear velocity (VCL), straight line velocity (VSL), average path velocity (VAP), linearity, and straightness using a computerized system of sperm analysis. Sperm membrane integrity parameters were analyzed using eosin-nigrosin staining, sperm morphology was assessed using pink bengal staining, and motility duration was measured by a digital timer. Data were analyzed using the statistical program SAS (2002) and the results were expressed as means ± standard error of the mean. The results showed that, in general, there was no significant increase in seminal quality when antioxidants were added to the cryoprotective solution. The T5 treatment promoted an increase (P < 0.05) in progressive motility when compared to T1 (6.33 ± 1.14% and 2.98 ± 0.88%, respectively). However, it did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) from the other treatments. Treatments T2 and T5 presented the highest values of VCL (34.74 ± 2.58 and 33.60 ± 1.81 μm.s-1, respectively). These were higher (P < 0.05) than T1 (26.31 ± 1.64 μm.s-1) but not different (P > 0.05) from the T7 control (30.87 ± 1.49 μm.s-1). The VSL and VAP results showed that T1 presented the lowest velocity (9.89 ± 1.75 and 15.06 ± 1.92 μm.s-1, respectively) compared to the other treatments (P < 0.05) that did not differ from each other. Combining the two vitamins (T3) or the two amino acids (T6) was not advantageous in relation to the use of only one of these antioxidants.Discussion: The present study reports, for the first time, results of the addition of antioxidants to the tambaqui seminal freezing medium. The addition of taurine and vitamin E, although not significantly different from the control treatment, resulted in a tendency to increase sperm kinetics. This effect may be due to the action of taurine as a regulator of Ca2+ transporters, which is necessary to trigger sperm activation, and to the ability of vitamin E to scavenge reactive oxygen species produced during lipid peroxidation. On the other hand, the reduced sperm quality observed when vitamin C was used may have been related to the toxicity caused by a high concentration of this vitamin. In addition, once the safe dose of antioxidants has been exceeded, the normal physiological functions of reactive oxygen species can be inhibited. Thus, it is concluded that the use of vitamin E and taurine promotes promising results of curvilinear velocity after thawing of sperm. Therefore, these treatments are recommended, as well as more tests to determine their optimal concentrations.


Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysun Ozkan

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate that: (i) epirubicin-HCl (EPI) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells cytotoxicity may be mediated by free radical generation; and (ii) resistant H1299 cells may be more sensitive to combined treatment of LAK cells plus EPI than the LAK or EPI treatment alone. Viability of H1299 cells treated with EPI, LAK and LAK plus EPI was measured using the MTT test. Amount of glutathione (GSH), protein content and enzymatic activity were measured by spectrophotometer. Glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pi expression in the cells was determined by western blot analysis. LAK plus EPI combined treatment increased susceptibility of H1299 WT and H1299 EPI(R) (300-fold EPI resistant) cells to LAK cell cytotoxicity. The resistance of H1299 EPI(R) cells to EPI appears to be associated with a developed tolerance to free radicals, most likely because of a 2-fold increase in NADPH-dependent-cytochrome-P450 reductase (NADPH-CYP reductase) activity, 11-fold GST activity and 11-and 7-fold augmented selenium dependent and independent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, respectively. Amount of GST-pi in H1299 EPI(R) cells is statistically different from negative control and H1299 WT (p < 0.01). It is proposed that production of reactive oxygen species and hydrogen peroxide by the treatment of EPI and LAK cells can cause cytotoxicity of H1299 WT and H1299 EPI(R) cells. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, GSH-Px, GST, NADPH-CYP reductase and GSH must be considered as part of the intracellular antioxidant defense mechanism of H1299 WT and H1299 EPI(R) cells against reactive oxygen species. Combined treatment of EPI plus LAK cells caused the increasing cytotoxicity on the H1299 EPI(R) cells.


2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 987-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Varinder K Randhawa ◽  
Fengzhen Zhou ◽  
Xiaolei Jin ◽  
Czesia Nalewajko ◽  
Donn J Kushner

Treatment with Ni(NO3)2 leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the green alga Scenedesmus acutus f. alternans, causing lipid peroxidation. This effect was stronger in a Ni-sensitive strain, UTEX72, than in a Ni-resistant strain, B4. In the resistant strain, Ni induced an increased ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione (GSH:GSSG), whereas it caused a lowered ratio in the sensitive strain. Enzymes involved in the control of ROS were studied in these strains as well as two others that have shown different degrees of nickel resistance. The resistant strain, B4, which grows while containing large amounts of internal Ni, had much higher levels of glutathione reductase and catalase than the other strains. The sensitive strain, UTEX72, had higher levels of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase than did strain B4. The resistant strains, Ni-Tol and Cu-Tol, derived from strain UTEX72, which are partly able to exclude Ni, had enzyme profiles that resembled that of UTEX72 more closely than that of B4. Treatment with 10 and 100 µM Ni for 4 or 22 h had complex effects on enzyme levels in all four strains. Ni decreased glutathione reductase in B4, slightly increased it in Ni-Tol and Cu-Tol, and did not affect the low levels of this enzyme in UTEX72. Ni lowered glutathione peroxidase in B4 and either did not affect it or slightly raised it in the other strains. Ni lowered catalase in B4 and did not affect the other strains. Superoxide dismutase was raised in B4 and Ni-Tol and lowered in Cu-Tol and UTEX72, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was lowered in all four strains. These results suggest that one major mechanism of Ni resistance, especially in strain B4, may be the ability to combat the formation of ROS when exposed to this metal, likely by maintaining a high GSH:GSSG ratio.Key words: Scenedesmus acutus f. alternans, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, lipid peroxidation, nickel, reactive oxygen species.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Valentina Levak ◽  
Tjaša Lukan ◽  
Kristina Gruden ◽  
Anna Coll

Biosensors are indispensable tools to understand a plant’s immunity as its spatiotemporal dimension is key in withstanding complex plant immune signaling. The diversity of genetically encoded biosensors in plants is expanding, covering new analytes with ever higher sensitivity and robustness, but their assortment is limited in some respects, such as their use in following biotic stress response, employing more than one biosensor in the same chassis, and their implementation into crops. In this review, we focused on the available biosensors that encompass these aspects. We show that in vivo imaging of calcium and reactive oxygen species is satisfactorily covered with the available genetically encoded biosensors, while on the other hand they are still underrepresented when it comes to imaging of the main three hormonal players in the immune response: salicylic acid, ethylene and jasmonic acid. Following more than one analyte in the same chassis, upon one or more conditions, has so far been possible by using the most advanced genetically encoded biosensors in plants which allow the monitoring of calcium and the two main hormonal pathways involved in plant development, auxin and cytokinin. These kinds of biosensor are also the most evolved in crops. In the last section, we examine the challenges in the use of biosensors and demonstrate some strategies to overcome them.


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