Mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway in alveolar epithelial cells exposed to the metals in combustion-generated particulate matter.

Previously a significant mitochondrial impairment was identified in alveolar epithelial cells exposed to metals adsorbed to combustion-generated particulate matter (PM). Due to the critical role of mitochondria in apoptosis, the aim of this study was to investigate the pro-apoptotic potential of metals present in oil fly ash (OFA). A549 cells were exposed to water-soluble components of an OFA sample, containing vanadium [V(IV)], iron [Fe(III)], and nickel [Ni(II)] (68.8, 110.4, and 18 µM, respectively). Experiments were also performed using individual metal solutions. Apoptosis was detected and the mitochondrial role was assessed by a caspase-9 inhibitor (Z-LEHD-FMK). To determine whether the presence of impaired mitochondria in unexposed daughter cells increased apoptosis, an in vitro model was developed that allowed determination of effects until the third cell generation. To specifically examine the toxicity of vanadium (V), that characterize the airborne pollutant examined in this study, p53involvement and metabolic impairment through changes in HIF-1α and Glut-1 expression were determined. OFA and individual metal solutions produced significant apoptosis in the progeny of exposed cells, triggering the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. In apoptosis induced by poorly genotoxic metal V, p53 did not play a significant role. However, V exposure increased nuclear translocation of HIF-1α and expression of the Glut-1 receptor, indicating metabolic impairment due to metal-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Overall, these results improve our knowledge of the pathogenic role that airborne metals and in particular V exerted in respiratory epithelium.

Defining the identity of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) are an ideal population for regenerative medical application. Both the isolation procedure and the culturing conditions are crucial steps, since low yield can limit further cell therapies, especially when minimal adipose tissue harvests are available for cell expansion. To date, a standardized procedure encompassing both isolation sites and expansion methods is missing, thus making the choice of the most appropriate conditions for the preparation of ADMSCs controversial, especially in view of the different applications needed. In this study, we compared the effects of three different commercial media (DMEM, aMEM, and EGM2), routinely used for ADMSCs expansion, and two supplements, FBS and human platelet lysate, recently proven to be an effective alternative to prevent xenogeneic antibody transfer and immune alloresponse in the host. Notably, all the conditions resulted in being safe for ADMSCs isolation and expansion with platelet lysate supplementation giving the highest isolation and proliferation rates, together with a commitment for osteogenic lineage. Then, we proved that the high ADMSC hematopoietic supportive potential is performed through a constant and abundant secretion of both GCSF and SCF. In conclusion, this study further expands the knowledge on ADMSCs, defining their identity definition and offers potential options for in vitro protocols for clinical production, especially related to HSC expansion without use of exogenous cytokines or genetic modifications.

Oxidative stress in the lung of mice exposed to cigarette smoke either early in life or in adulthood.

Birth and early life stages are critical periods characterized by severe alterations of the redox balance and by "physiological" genomic changes in lung cells, which may be responsible for cancer and other diseases in adulthood. Oxidative stress is a major mechanism accounting for the carcinogenicity of cigarette smoke (CS), which becomes more potently carcinogenic in mice when exposure starts at birth and continues early in life. We compared herewith a variety of end-points related to oxidative stress, mitochondrial alterations, and cell turnover in the lung of Swiss H mice, either sham-exposed or CS-exposed for 4 weeks, starting either at birth or at 4 months of age. The results showed that the physiological levels of certain end-points are affected by age. In fact, the baseline proportion of hypodiploid cells and the mitochondrial potential and mass were higher in adults, whereas 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dGuo) levels, the proportion of necrotic cells, and the extent of autophagy were higher early in life. Adult mice were more responsive to CS by increasing the proportion of necrotic cells and of cells in S/G2 phase, whereas young mice maintained a high extent of autophagy, exhibited a greater increase of lipid peroxidation products and 8-oxo-dGuo levels, and had a higher frequency of micronucleated cells. In addition, exposure to CS affected the mitochondrial potential/mass, especially in young mice. In conclusion, these data provide evidence that oxidative stress and the resulting DNA damage provide a major contribution to the high susceptibility of mice to CS early in life.

Genotoxic damage in the oral mucosa cells of subjects carrying restorative dental fillings.

A large proportion of the population carries restorative dental fillings containing either classic Hg-based amalgams and/or the more frequently used methacrylates. Both Hg- and resin-based materials have been shown to be released into the buccal cavity and to be spread systemically. In addition, they induce toxic and genotoxic alterations in experimental test systems. Using the comet assay, we previously demonstrated that circulating lymphocytes of subjects with dental fillings have an increased DNA damage. Here, we analyzed the oral mucosa cells of 63 young subjects of both genders, by using both the comet assay and the micronucleus (MN) test and by monitoring cell death markers. The results obtained show that both amalgams and resin-based composite fillings can induce genotoxic damage in human oral mucosa cells, as convincingly and dose-dependently inferred from the results of the MN test and, more marginally, from comet assay data. Lifestyle variables, also including alcohol intake and smoking habits, did not affect the genotoxic response and did not act as confounding factors. Thus, we provide unequivocal evidence for the genotoxicity of both amalgams and resin-based dental fillings in humans not only by testing circulating lymphocytes but also by analyzing oral mucosa cells. These findings are of particular relevance due to the circumstance that subjects with restorative materials are exposed continuously and for long periods of time.

Oxidative damage and genotoxicity biomarkers in transfused and untransfused thalassemic subjects.

Chronic anemia and tissue hypoxia increase intestinal iron absorption and mitochondrial impairment in thalassemic patients. Regular blood transfusions improve hemoglobin levels but determine an iron overload that induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction. The aim of this study was to assess cellular oxidative damage by detection of ROS, lipid peroxidation, 8-oxo-dG, and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Δψ(m)) in transfused and untransfused thalassemic patients. We have also evaluated genotoxicity by CBMN and comet assay. Our data show that ROS and lipid hydroperoxides are significantly higher in thalassemic patients than in controls, especially in untransfused thalassemia intermedia patients. Moreover, the latter have a significant decrease in Δψ(m) that highlights the energetic failure in hypoxic state and the ROS overproduction in the respiratory chain. 8-OHdG levels are higher in thalassemics than in controls, but do not differ significantly between the two patient groups. Both genotoxicity biomarkers highlight the mutagenic potential of hydroxyl radicals released by iron in the Fenton reaction. Values for percentage of DNA in the comet tail and micronuclei frequency, significantly higher in transfused patients, could also be due to active hepatitis C virus infection and to the many drug treatments. Our biomonitoring study confirms the oxidative damage in patients with thalassemia major and shows an unexpected cellular oxidative damage in untransfused thalassemic patients. In addition to iron overload, the results highlight the important role played by hypoxia-driven mitochondrial ROS overproduction in determining oxidative damage in ß-thalassemias.

Ex vivo study for the assessment of behavioral factor and gene polymorphisms in individual susceptibility to oxidative DNA damage metals-induced.

Transition metals in fine particulate matter generated by combustion induce oxidative DNA damage and inflammation. However, there is remarkable inter-individual variability in susceptibility to these damages. To assess this variability, an ex vivo study was performed using lymphocytes of 47 Caucasian healthy subjects. Cell samples were exposed to a water solution of oil fly ash (OFA). This was formed by the distinctive transition metals vanadium, iron, and nickel. Oxidative DNA damage was evaluated by testing cell viability, intracellular ROS production and 8-oxo-dG. DNA fragmentation and DNA repair capacity were assessed by using the Alkaline-Halo assay. GSTM1, GSTT1, hOGG1, and C677T and A1298C MTHFR gene polymorphisms were tested. Demographic and behavioral factors, collected by questionnaire, were also considered. OFA induced damages showed: (a) a 20-fold variation in range among different subjects in ROS production, (b) a 7-fold variation in range of 8-oxo-dG, and (c) a 25-fold variation in range in DNA repair capacity. A significant increase in DNA damage was detected in GSTT1-deficent subjects compared with wild type genotype carriers. Increases in cytoplasmic ROS and decreases in DNA repair capacity (P<0.05) were observed in C677T and A1298C variants of MTHFR. A remarkable protective effect of high fruits and vegetable intake was observed for ROS production and DNA damage. Conversely, an adverse effect of meat intake was observed on ROS increase, DNA damage and repair capacity, probably due to the increased intake of bioavailable iron. Smoking decreased DNA repair capacity, while age increased OFA-induced DNA damage. The wide comparative analysis of the complex interactions network, between genetic and behavioral factors provides evidence of the remarkable role of several lifestyle factors. In comparison to genetic polymorphisms they seem to have a higher weight in determining individual susceptibility to the adverse effects of airborne pollutants as transition metals.

Ability of dorzolamide hydrochloride and timolol maleate to target mitochondria in glaucoma therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To test the ability of dorzolamide hydrochloride and timolol maleate to display antioxidant effects. METHODS: Antioxidant activity was tested in whole trabecular meshwork (TM) tissue as collected from corneal donors' biopsy specimens, young (third passage) and old (10th passage) human TM cells, and acellular systems composed of pure DNA and subcellular fractions containing or devoid of mitochondria. Oxidative stress was induced by hydrogen peroxide. Monitored end points included DNA fragmentation as evaluated by the halo test, oxidative DNA damage in terms of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, and mitochondrial function as evaluated by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test. RESULTS: The antioxidant effect of dorzolamide and timolol were observed on TM biopsy specimens and human TM cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide. As evaluated in cell subfractions, timolol displays antioxidant activity regardless of mitochondria presence. Conversely, the antioxidant activity of dorzolamide was maximized in the presence of mitochondria-containing subcellular fractions and in young human TM cells with functional mitochondria. CONCLUSIONS: The antioxidant effect of timolol was direct. The antioxidant effect of dorzolamide involves mitochondria and is likely to be exerted mainly during the early glaucoma phases when the mitochondrial damage in the TM tissue still occurs at low levels. Clinical Relevance  Timolol has an antioxidant effect on the entire cell, whereas dorzolamide exerts protective activity toward oxidative stress only in the presence of intact mitochondria (ie, in endothelial cells that are younger when the cellular damage is still limited). The important role of mitochondrial damage in primary open- angle glaucoma is supported by the finding that mutant myocilin impairs mitochondrial functions in human TM meshwork cells.

Multigenerational mitochondrial alterations in pneumocytes exposed to oil fly ash metals.

Oil fly ash (OFA), containing high amounts of transition metals, is among the most reactive airborne particulate matter emissions, which have been associated with several diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), lung cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate mitochondrial alterations in OFA-exposed cultured pneumocytes and in their progeny. Alveolar epithelial cells (A549 line) were exposed either to an OFA water solution, containing 68.8 µM vanadium (V), 110.4 µM iron (Fe), and 18.0 µM nickel (Ni), or to the individual metal solutions. Structural and functional mitochondrial parameters were determined in exposed cultures and in 3 consecutive subcultures. OFA, V and Fe solutions caused a time-dependent loss of mitochondrial enzymatic activity, glutathione depletion, generation of lipid hydroperoxides, hydrogen peroxide and other reactive oxygen species, especially in G(0)-G(1) phase cells, accompanied by a decrease in mitochondrial mass and transmembrane potential. Mitochondrial alterations were partly transmissible to daughter cells for up to 3 generations. Fe and especially V were responsible for the observed mitochondrial alterations in pneumocytes exposed to OFA. Spread of mitochondrial dysfunctions to daughter cells is expected to amplify oxidative stress in the respiratory epithelium and to play an important role in the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases.

Oxidative damage in human epithelial alveolar cells exposed in vitro to oil fly ash transition metals.

Among particulate matter emissions from combustion processes, oil fly ash (OFA) displays a marked oxidative and inflammogenic reactivity, due to the high content of bioavailable transition metals. In the present study, we evaluated the biological effects of an OFA water solution, composed of the transition metals Fe (57.5%), V (32.4%), and Ni (10.1%), in human epithelial alveolar cells (A549 line). The fluorimetric analysis by 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein showed a significant, dose- and time-dependent induction of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggered by OFA metal components at subtoxic doses. The metal chelator deferoxamine and the radical scavenger dimethylsulfoxide attenuated the metal-induced generation of ROS. Confocal microscopy observations strengthened these findings and showed an intense cytoplasmic fluorescence with perinuclear thickenings in A549 cells, in the absence of morphological damage. Metal-induced generation of ROS was significantly correlated with a dose- and time-dependent DNA damage, as assessed by single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). Catalase was able to decrease dramatically DNA damage. Fluorimetric analyses by diphenyl-1-pyrenylphosphine showed a parallelism between generation of ROS and formation of lipid peroxides. The results obtained in the experiments evaluating the effects of individual metal solutions did not show any significant difference in DNA damage between Fe(III) and V(IV), but highlighted the higher capability of V(IV) to increase ROS in the cytoplasmic compartment. The different behavior of these two elements, confirmed by the weak Fe-induced lipid peroxidation, may be ascribed to the presence of Fe-binding proteins, such as ferritin, in the cytoplasm. Finally, Ni(II) had negligible effects on ROS production. On the whole, the results obtained in this study show the strong capability of transition metals adsorbed to OFA to cause widespread damage to biological macromolecules, and suggest potential health effects resulting from exposure to power plant emissions in industrialized sites.

Biomonitoring of DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of subjects with dental restorative fillings.

Dental fillings provide a major iatrogenic exposure to xenobiotic compounds due to the high prevalence of surface restorations in developed countries. Experimental data suggest that both amalgams, which contain mercury, and resin-based dental materials cause an impairment of the cellular pro- and anti-oxidant redox balance. The aim of this study was to assess the potential genotoxicity of dental restorative compounds in peripheral blood lymphocytes of young exposed subjects compared with controls. The study examined, by use of the comet assay, 68 carefully selected subjects taking into account the major known confounding factors. In the 44 exposed subjects, the mean numbers of restored surfaces was 3.0 and 3.8 in males and females, respectively. Tail length, percentage of DNA in the tail, tail moment or Olive tail moment were twofold higher in the exposed group than in unexposed controls, with significant differences. No significant difference was observed between amalgam and composite fillings. Furthermore, as shown by multivariate analysis, the association between dental fillings and DNA damage was enhanced by the number of fillings and by the exposure time. Among the lifestyle variables, a moderate physical activity showed a protective effect, being inversely correlated to the DNA damage parameters evaluated. On the whole, the use of DNA-migration allowed us to detect for the first time the potential adverse impact on human health of both kinds of dental filling constituents, the amalgams and the methacrylates. The main mechanism underlying the genotoxicity of dental restorative materials of various nature may be ascribed to the ability of both amalgams and methacrylates to trigger the generation of cellular reactive oxygen species, able to cause oxidative DNA lesions.

Lack of genotoxic effects in hematopoietic and gastrointestinal cells of mice receiving chromium(VI) with the drinking water.

Chromium(VI) is genotoxic when tested in vitro or injected parenterally in such a way to escape detoxification mechanisms. However, its genotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity are lost, depending on dose and administration route, due to efficient reduction in body fluids and nontarget cells. Chromium(VI) is a Group 1 IARC carcinogen, but only in the respiratory tract and in well-defined occupational settings that involved heavy exposures. Recently, concern has been expressed that oral chromium(VI) may be a gastric carcinogen. We demonstrated that administration of very high doses of chromium(VI) with the drinking water does not induce any clastogenic effect in hematopoietic cells of adult mice and their fetuses. Thereafter, we investigated whether administration of chromium(VI) with the drinking water may induce local genotoxic effects in the gastrointestinal tract. Sodium dichromate dihydrate was administered to mice for 9 consecutive months, at doses corresponding to 5 and 20 mg chromium(VI)/l, which exceed drinking water standards by 100 and 400 times, respectively. Under these conditions, chromium(VI) failed to enhance the frequency of DNA-protein crosslinks and did not cause oxidative DNA damage, measured in terms of 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine, in the forestomach, glandular stomach and duodenum. When cells from the same organs were isolated and challenged in vitro with chromium(VI), as positive controls, the same genotoxicity biomarkers were evidently affected. Thus, consistently with the knowledge accumulated in 50 years of research on chromium(VI) kinetics and metabolism, oral chromium(VI) appears to be devoid of genotoxicity in the gastrointestinal tract. After 9 months, we did not observe any variation of tumor yield in skin, lung, forestomach, glandular stomach, and duodenum of chromium(VI)-treated mice. These results are discussed in the light of literature data, also including a recent 2-year carcinogenicity study performed by the National Toxicology Program.