Multiple adverse effects of textile effluents and reactive Red 239 dye to aquatic organisms.

Textile dyeing consumes high volumes of water, generating proportional number of colored effluents which contain several hazardous chemical. These contaminants can implicate in significant changes in aquatic environmental, including several adverse effects to organisms in different trophic levels. The present study was developed to assess the ecotoxicological effects of textile effluent samples and reactive Red 239 dye (used in cotton dyeing) to aquatic organisms Vibrio fischeri bacteria, Daphnia similis crustacean, and Biomphalaria glabrata snail (adults and embryos). Chronic assays with lethal and sublethal effects for Daphnia similis were included and performed only for textile effluents samples. The mutagenicity was also evaluated with Salmonella/microsome assay (TA98, TA100, and YG1041 strains). V. fischeri bacteria was the most sensitive to reactive Red 239 dye (EC50 = 10.14 mg L-1) followed by mollusk embryos at all stages (EC50 = 116.41 to 124.14 mg L-1), D. similis (EC50= 389.42 mg L-1), and less sensitive to adult snails (LC50= 517.19 mg L-1). The textile effluent was toxic for all exposed organisms [E(L)C50 < 15%] and B. glabrata embryos showed different responses in the early stages of blastulae and gastrulae (EC50 = 7.60 and 7.08%) compared to advanced development stages trochophore and veliger (EC50 = 21.56 and 29.32%). Developmental and sublethal effects in B. glabrata embryos and D. similis were evidenced. In the chronic assay with effluent, the EC10/NOEC = 3% was obtained. Mutagenic effects were not detected for dye aqueous solutions neither for effluents samples. These data confirmed the importance of evaluating the effects in aquatic organisms from different trophic levels and reinforce the need for environmental aquatic protection.

Multiple adverse effects of textile effluents and reactive Red 239 dye to aquatic organisms

Textile dyeing consumes high volumes of water, generating proportional number of colored effluents which contain several hazardous chemical. These contaminants can implicate in significant changes in aquatic environmental, including several adverse effects to organisms in different trophic levels. The present study was developed to assess the ecotoxicological effects of textile effluent samples and reactive Red 239 dye (used in cotton dyeing) to aquatic organisms Vibrio fischeri bacteria, Daphnia similis crustacean, and Biomphalaria glabrata snail (adults and embryos). Chronic assays with lethal and sublethal effects for Daphnia similis were included and performed only for textile effluents samples. The mutagenicity was also evaluated with Salmonella/microsome assay (TA98, TA100, and YG1041 strains). V. fischeri bacteria was the most sensitive to reactive Red 239 dye (EC50 = 10.14 mg L−1) followed by mollusk embryos at all stages (EC50 = 116.41 to 124.14 mg L−1), D. similis (EC50= 389.42 mg L−1), and less sensitive to adult snails (LC50= 517.19 mg L−1). The textile effluent was toxic for all exposed organisms [E(L)C50 < 15%] and B. glabrata embryos showed different responses in the early stages of blastulae and gastrulae (EC50 = 7.60 and 7.08%) compared to advanced development stages trochophore and veliger (EC50 = 21.56 and 29.32%). Developmental and sublethal effects in B. glabrata embryos and D. similis were evidenced. In the chronic assay with effluent, the EC10/NOEC = 3% was obtained. Mutagenic effects were not detected for dye aqueous solutions neither for effluents samples. These data confirmed the importance of evaluating the effects in aquatic organisms from different trophic levels and reinforce the need for environmental aquatic protection.

Air Particulate Matter Induces Skin Barrier Dysfunction and Water Transport Alteration on a Reconstructed Human Epidermis Model.

Knowing the damage that particulate matter (PM) can cause in skin is important for tightly controlling the release of air pollutants and preventing more serious diseases. This study investigates if such alterations are present in reconstructed human epidermis exposed to coarse air PM. Exposure of reconstructed human epidermis to increasing concentrations (2.2, 8.9, and 17.9 µg/cm2) of standard urban PM over time led to decreased cell viability at 48 hours. The barrier function was shown to be compromised by 24 hours of exposure to high doses (17.9 µg/cm2). Morphological alterations included cytoplasm vacuolization and partial loss of epidermal stratification. Cytokeratin 10, involucrin, loricrin, and filaggrin protein levels were significantly decreased. We confirmed an inflammatory process by IL-1α release and found a significant increase in AQP3 expression. We also demonstrated changes in NOTCH1 and AhR expression of epidermis treated with coarse air PM. The use of hydrogen peroxide altered AQP3 and NOTCH1 expression, and the use of N-acetyl-L-cysteine altered NOTCH1 expression, suggesting that this is a redox-dependent process. These results demonstrate that coarse air PM induces dose-dependent inflammatory response and alterations in protein markers of differentiation and water transport in the epidermis that could ultimately compromise the structural integrity of the skin, promoting or exacerbating various skin diseases.

Oxidative stress, mutagenic effects, and cell death induced by retene.

Retene (RET) is the most abundant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) released upon burning of cellulose, although it is not considered as one of the priority PAHs and is not included for risk assessments by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA). There are only a few studies concerning the toxic effects of RET. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first one to examine whether RET, in an environmental concentration, plays a crucial role in the induction of oxidative stress in A549 lung cell line, and its consequence as such as mutagenicity and cell death. Our results revealed that RET was able to significantly decrease cell viability only at 72 h of exposure, increase oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial contents, leading an increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Mutagenic activity was not detected in Salmonella strains, suggesting that RET does not induce base-pair substitution (TA100), frameshift (TA98 and TA97a) and transition/transversion (TA102) mutations. However, exposure to RET led to a significant increase in micronuclei (MN), nucleoplasmic bridges (NPBs), and nuclear buds (NBUDs) frequency, as well as cell death, mainly due to necrosis. Taken together, the results of our study provide new evidence suggesting that RET promotes oxidative stress, contributes to the processes of genomic instability, and favors necrosis. Thus, we highlight the importance of including RET in routine environmental analyses in the future as a potential risk factor involved in complex diseases and carcinogenesis.

Biomass burning particles in the Brazilian Amazon region: Mutagenic effects of nitro and oxy-PAHs and assessment of health risks.

Emissions from burning of biomass in the Amazon region have adverse effects on the environment and human health. Herein, particulate matter (PM) emitted from biomass burning in the Amazon region during two different periods, namely intense and moderate, was investigated. This study focused on: i) organic characterization of nitro- and oxy-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); ii) assessment of the excess lifetime cancer risk (LCR); and iii) assessment of the in vitro mutagenic effects of extractable organic matter (EOM). Further, we compared the sensitivity of two mutagenicity tests: Salmonella/microsome test and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) with human lung cells. Among the nitro-PAHs, 2-nitrofluoranthene, 7-nitrobenz[a]anthracene, 1-nitropyrene, and 3-nitrofluoranthene showed the highest concentrations, while among oxy-PAHs, 2-metylanthraquinone, benz[a]anthracene-7,12-dione, and 9,10-anthraquinone were the most abundant. The LCR calculated for nitro-PAH exposure during intense biomass burning period showed a major contribution of 6-nitrochrysene to human carcinogenic risk. The EOM from intense period was more mutagenic than that from moderate period for both TA98 and YG1041 Salmonella strains. The number of revertants for YG1041 was 5-50% higher than that for TA98, and the most intense responses were obtained in the absence of metabolic activation, suggesting that nitroaromatic compounds with direct-acting frameshift mutagenic activity are contributing to the DNA damage. Treatment of cells with non-cytotoxic doses of EOM resulted in an increase in micronuclei frequencies. The minimal effective dose showed that Salmonella/microsome test was considerably more sensitive in comparison with CBMN mainly for the intense burning period samples. This was the first study to assess the mutagenicity of EOM associated with PM collected in the Amazon region using Salmonella/microsome test. The presence of compounds with mutagenic effects, particularly nitro- and oxy-PAHs, and LCR values in the range of 10-5 indicate that the population is potentially exposed to an increased risk of DNA damage, mutation, and cancer.

Estratégias para avaliação da genotoxicidade de sedimentos / Strategies for sediments genotoxicity evaluation

A contaminação de ambientes aquáticos por descargas industriais e domésticas tem sido fonte de preocupação há algumas décadas. Muitos dos contaminantes, quando liberados na água, podem ser adsorvidos ou ligar-se ao material particulado e depositar-se no sedimento de fundo destes ambientes. Os sedimentos têm influência direta na qualidade das águas pois são considerados depósito de contaminantes e também fonte de poluição para a coluna d'água. Os contaminantes presentes nos sedimentos podem ser avaliados utilizando-se análises químicas ou ensaios ecotoxicológicos. Os compostos orgânicos com atividade genotóxica, capazes de alterar o material genético de organismos expostos, têm sido usualmente detectados pelo teste de Ames, que avalia a indução de mutações em linhagens de Salmonella typhimurium auxotróficas para histidina...