Protective activities of ellagic acid and urolithins against kidney toxicity of environmental pollutants: A review

Oxidative stress and inflammation are two possible mechanisms related to nephrotoxicity caused by environmental pollutants. Ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant phytochemical, may have great relevance in mitigating pollutant-induced nephrotoxicity and preventing the progression of kidney disease. This review discusses the latest findings on the protective effects of ellagic acid, its metabolic derivatives, the urolithins, against kidney toxicity caused by heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, and organic air pollutants. We describe the chelating, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antiautophagic, and antiapoptotic properties of ellagic acid to attenuate nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, we present the molecular targets and signaling pathways that are regulated by these antioxidants, and suggest some others that should be explored. Nevertheless, the number of reports is still limited to establish the efficacy of ellagic acid against kidney damage induced by environmental pollutants. Therefore, additional preclinical studies on this topic are required, as well as the development of well-designed clinical trials.     

交链孢酚激活人胎食管上皮组织细胞癌基因的研究

本文报道食管癌高发区粮食中优势污染菌互隔交链孢霉代谢产物交链孢酚(AOH)对人胎儿食管上皮组织癌基因的激活。结果表明,体外培养的人胎儿食管上皮组织经10gg/ml AOH作用4h后,其DNA具有转化活性,可转化NIH/3T3细胞。一轮转化率为0.17Foci/μg DNA,二轮转化率为0.58Foci/μg DNA(P<0.01)。转化细胞中含有人特异性高重复序列Alu,提示转化系人DNA转染所致。Southern blot检测表明,AOH处理后的人胎儿食管上皮组织内有H-ras和myc基因的扩增,经其转染的NIH/3T3细胞中亦有H-ras基因持久而稳定的扩增。对照组胎儿食管上皮和正常NIH/3T3细胞中均未发现相应的同源序列,说明正常胎儿食管组织中的H-ras和myc基因可经AOH短期处理而激活。该结果对AOH可能系人食管癌病因之一提供了直接证据。     

互隔交链孢霉提取物对淋巴细胞核仁形成区及细胞增殖周期的影响

本实验应用人类核仁形成区(NORs)选择性银染方法和细胞光度术,观察了互隔交链孢霉两菌株提取物261-B_2-3和C_(12)b_3-2对人淋巴细胞NORs活性的影响以及后者对细胞增殖周期移行的影响。结果显示,应用不同浓度的261-B_2-3和C_(12)b_3-2提取物处理细胞后,细胞携带Ag-NORs的染色体数明显减少,与对照组比较差异极显著(P<0.01)。表明两株提取物能明显抑制淋巴细胞NORs的活性。细胞暴露于不同浓度的C_(12)b_3-2提取物后,G_1%明显增多,S%和G_2+M%显著减少,与对照相比差异极显著(P<0.01)。说明C_(12)b_3-2提取物可能作用于G_1后期或S早期,延缓和阻滞了细胞周期的移行。     

血清和尿液中22种真菌毒素的高效液相色谱——四极杆轨道阱质谱筛查方法建立

目的 建立血液、尿液中22种常见真菌毒素的液液萃取-高效液相色谱四极杆轨道阱质谱测定方法。方法 基于高效液相色谱-四极杆轨道阱质谱技术,首先建立22种常见真菌毒素的色谱质谱数据库。然后取血清和尿液样品,用0.10 mol/L NaOH 溶液调节至碱性,加入乙酸乙酯涡旋混合萃取,萃取液用弱的氮气吹至近干,残渣加甲醇水溶液（50∶50,v/v）复溶,经过滤后进 LC - MS/MS 分析。在一定识别标准下与数据库比对进行定性筛查。结果 尿液和血液检出限（limit of detection,LOD）分别为2.61×10 - 3～50.0 ng/ml和2.07×10 - 3～50.0 ng/ml,定量限（limit of quantitation,LOQ）分别为8.70×10 - 3～1.67×102 ng/ml和 6.91×10 - 3～1.67×102 ng/ml。尿液测定日内相对标准偏差（relative standard derivations, RSDs）为2.34%～8.40%,日间RSDs为4.80%～10.9%;血液测定日内RSDs为2.10%～10.6%,日间RSDs为3.07%～11.6%。结论 建立的快速筛查方法操作简单,具有高通量、高灵敏度和高准确性的特点,符合生物样品中毒物分析鉴定的要求,同时可以更好地发现新型毒物和未知毒物。     

Nursing a canine with presumptive tremorgenic mycotoxicosis following ingestion of mouldy dog food – a case report

A one-year-old neutered female Labrador Retriever presented with twitches and subsequent generalised tonic–clonic seizure activity following ingestion of mouldy dog food. Further complicating factors were hyperthermia and metabolic acidosis. Initial emergency treatment involved seizure management, blood analysis, intravenous fluid therapy, active cooling and decontamination via gastric lavage, administration of activated charcoal and an intralipid infusion. The patient was maintained under general anaesthesia to manage the seizure activity. Post-anaesthetic management included treatment of aspiration pneumonia, physiotherapy, intravenous fluid therapy and management of an indwelling urinary catheter. The patient was discharged 48 h post-admission without further complication.     

Lactobacillus plantarum culture supernatants improve intestinal tissue exposed to deoxynivalenol

In the present study, histological, morphometrical and ultrastructural analysis were performed to investigate intestinal mucosa changes in piglets exposed to deoxynivalenol alone or associated with two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and the respective culture supernatants. Jejunal explants were incubated for 4 h in culture medium with a) only culture medium (DMEM, control group), b) deoxynivalenol (DON, 10 μM), c) heat-inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum strain1 ? LP1 (1.1 × 10⁸ CFU/ml) plus DON, d) heat-inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum strain2–LP2 (2.0 × 10⁹ CFU/ml) plus DON, e) heat-inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum strain1 culture supernatant (CS1) plus DON, and f) heat-inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum strain1 culture supernatant (CS1) plus DON. Explants exposed to DON and DON plus LP1 and LP2 showed a significant increase in histological changes (mainly villi atrophy and apical necrosis) and a significant decrease in villi height when compared to unexposed explants. However, explants treated with CS1 + DON and CS2 + DON remained similar to the control group both in histological and morphometrical aspects. DON also induced a significant decrease in goblet cell density compared to control whereas CS1 + DON treatment induced an increase in the number of goblet cells in comparison to DON explants. In addition, ultrastructural assessment showed control, CS1 + DON and CS2 + DON explants with well delineated finger shape villi, meanwhile DON-treated, LP1 + DON and LP2 + DON explants showed a severe villi atrophy with leukocytes exudation on the intestinal surface. Taken together, our results indicate that the culture supernatant treatment reduced the toxic effects induced by DON on intestinal tissue and may contribute as an alternative strategy to reduce mycotoxin toxicity.     

Hazard identification of cis/trans-zearalenone through the looking-glass

Among the food-related health issues, the presence of contaminants has a prominent role, due to the wide range of exogenous compounds that can occur in food commodities and to their large differences in structure and biological activity. A comprehensive assessment of the related risk is thus actually demanding in terms of time and facilities involved. In this context, the use of computational strategies can be an effective choice for supporting the hazard identification procedure at the early stage. In this work, we focused on the food contaminant zearalenone by comparing the trans and cis isomers, respectively the well-known mycoestrogen and its still largely understudied isomer. We estimated the possible effects exerted by human metabolism on the xenoestrogenicity of cis-ZEN by using a validated in silico strategy based on docking simulations and rescoring procedures. Similarly, the exploitation of the most promising enzymatic detoxifying routes designed for trans-ZEN – which relies on the enzyme lactono hydrolase from Clonostachys rosea – has been assessed for the cis-isomer as well. Our results showed that both isomers can act as functional analogues with respect to xenoestrogenic activity, and several cis-ZEN metabolites with high biological potential have been identified. On the contrary, in spite of the high degree of structural analogy, the cis isomer showed a pattern of interaction with the degrading enzyme in stark contrast with that observed for trans-ZEN. For these reasons, the outcomes presented herein strongly support the inclusion of cis-ZEN in further studies of occurrence, metabolism and bioactivity assessment, and suggest the need for a dedicated handling for the cis isomer in risk assessment studies.     

Study of mycotoxin calibration approaches on the example of trichothecenes analysis from flour

The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of different calibration approaches in trichothecenes analysis from wheat flour. Concretely eight trichothecenes (five type B trichothecenes and three type A trichothecenes) were analyzed by matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). In the first set of experiments the presence of matrix effects was evaluated; values ranged between 59% and 79%. In the second set of experiments, solutions to compensate these signal suppressions were examined. Different calibration methods showed to tackle matrix effects obtaining values between 69% and 85% for external matrix matched calibration and values from 76% to 111% and from 78% to 108% by analog and deuterated internal standard calibrations, respectively. Trueness of the method was studied using quality control material and certificated reference material (DON 1062 ± 110 μg kg⁻¹). The values were compared by matrix-matched, analog internal standard (deepoxydeoxynivalenol (DOM-1)) and deuterated internal standard (DON-d₁).     

The Effect of Zearalenone on Growth Rate,Organ Weight and Muscle Fibre Composition in Growing Rats

Abstract: The effect of prolonged zearalenone administration to growing rats on body and organ weight as well as on muscle fibre composition has been studied. Two muscles, M. longissimus dorsi and M. vastus lateralis. were selected for fibre analyses, and the different fibre types were identified by histochemical staining. Zearalenone caused retarded growth and reduced carcass weight in both sexes. With low daily doses female growth was retarded more than male growth, with higher doses the effect was the opposite. The most evident effects of zearalenone treatment on organ weight were enlargement of the liver in both sexes and of adrenal glands and the spleen in males. No effects were found on heart, kidney, testes or uterus. No significant changes of fibre number or diameter occurred in male rats after prolonged zearalenone feeding. In female rats, however, there was a 40% decrease in the number of αR fibres in vastus and a corresponding increase of αW fibres. Simultaneously the αR fibre size increased with 25%. No significant changes could be found in the activity of two enzymes in vastus, cytochrome oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase, as a consequence of the zearalenone treatment.     

Exposure assessment of Portuguese population to multiple mycotoxins: The human biomonitoring approach

Mycotoxins constitute a relevant group of food contaminants with several associated health outcomes such as estrogenic, immunotoxic, nephrotoxic and teratogenic effects. Although scarce data are available in Portugal, human biomonitoring studies have been globally developed to assess the exposure to mycotoxins at individual level. In order to overcome this lack of data, the present study concerned the analysis of mycotoxins in 24h urine and first-morning urine paired samples from 94 participants enrolled within the scope of the National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015–2016). Following a salt-assisted matrix extraction, urine samples were analysed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of 37 urinary mycotoxins’ biomarkers and data obtained used to estimate the probable daily intake as well as the risk characterization applying the Hazard Quotient approach. Results revealed the exposure of Portuguese population to zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, alternariol, citrinin and fumonisin B₁ through the quantification in 24h urine and first-morning urine paired samples. Risk characterization data revealed a potential concern to some reported mycotoxins since the reference intake values were exceeded by some of the considered participants. Alternariol was identified for the first time in urine samples from a European country; however, risk characterization was not performed due to lack of reference intake value. These results confirmed mycotoxins as part of the human exposome of the Portuguese population reinforcing the need for further studies regarding the determinants of exposure.