Accumulation and Elimination of Cadmium by the Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in differing Temperatures and Responses of Oxidative Stress Biomarkers.

The aims of this study were to investigate the accumulation (15 days) and elimination (15 and 30 days) of cadmium (Cd) in the liver, gill, kidney and muscle of Oreochromis niloticus following exposures to different concentrations (1 and 2 mg/L) of Cd at different water temperatures (20, 25, 30 oC). Additionally, responses of oxidative stress biomarkers (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GPx and malondialdehyde, MDA) of the liver were determined following Cd exposures. In accumulation period, Cd levels increased significantly in all the tissues at all temperatures and tissue accumulation order was kidney > liver > gill. All tissues, except the muscle, accumulated Cd in relation to exposure concentrations and water temperatures. There was no measurable level of Cd accumulation in the muscle, except in fish exposed to 2 mg Cd/L at 30 oC. Likewise, elimination of Cd from the tissues also increased in depends on periods and water temperatures. The order of Cd elimination from the tissues was gill > liver > kidney. The oxidative stress biomarkers also responded to both Cd exposure and temperature increases. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, GPx and MDA levels in the liver increased in relation to increases in Cd concentrations and water temperatures.

Prophylactic effect of myricetin and apigenin against lipopolysaccharide-induced acute liver injury.

BACKGROUND: Liver has an important role in the initiation and progression of multiple organ failure that occurs in sepsis. Many natural active substances can be used to reduce the liver injury caused by sepsis. For this aim, the effects of myricetin and apigenin on mice model of acute liver injury was evaluated in this study. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-six mice were randomly divided into six groups as; control, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5 mg/kg), LPS + myricetin (100 mg/kg), LPS + myricetin (200 mg/kg), LPS + apigenin (100 mg/kg), and LPS + apigenin (200 mg/kg) groups. Myricetin and apigenin were administered orally for 7 days, and LPS was administered intraperitoneally only on the 7th day of the study. 24 h after LPS application, all animals were sacrificed and serum biochemical parameters, histopathology and oxidative stress and inflammation markers of liver tissue were examined. Myricetin and apigenin pre-treatments increased serum albumin and total protein levels, liver GSH level and catalase and SOD activities and decreased serum ALT, AST, ALP, γ-GT, CRP, total and direct bilirubin levels, liver MPO activity, MDA, NOx, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 levels, iNOS and COX-2 mRNA levels, phosphorylation of NF-κB p65, IκB, and IKK proteins but not p38, ERK, and JNK proteins in LPS-treated mice. Myricetin and apigenin administration also regained the hepatic architecture disrupted during LPS application. CONCLUSION: Myricetin and apigenin pre-treatments led to reduction of liver injury indices and oxidative stress and inflammatory events and these flavonoids has probably hepatoprotective effects in acute liver injury.

Changes in Liver Tissue Trace Element Concentrations During Hepatitis B Viral Infection Treatment.

Approximately 350-400 million people in the world have Hbs Ag (hepatitis B virus surface antigen) positivity. In the international guidelines, the permanent suppression of replication in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection therapy is reported as the primary therapeutic goal. Trace elements play a key role in liver diseases. The aim of our study is to determine some trace element concentrations in the liver during HBV treatment periods. The measurement of 11 trace elements (manganese, lead, nickel, chromium, cadmium, iron, copper, zinc, silver, cobalt, and aluminum) was carried out by the method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in liver biopsy materials (before starting treatment and at the sixth month of the treatment period). There was an increase in zinc and copper concentrations in liver materials at the sixth month of treatment compared to the pre-treatment values (the median zinc value was 48.05 µg/g before treatment and 74.9 µg/g at 6 months after initial treatment, p = 0.035; median copper was 2.82 µg/g before treatment and 5.31 µg/g after 6 months, p = 0.002). General estimations indicated that zinc (p = 0.002), iron (p = 0.0244), copper (p = 0.0003), and aluminum (p = 0.0239) values may be effective in HAI (histological activity index) changes. Only iron levels could be at a very low level effective on the changes caused by fibrosis (p = 0.0002). Liver tissue zinc and copper levels increased in parallel with the improvement of inflammation in antiviral-treated HBV patients. In addition, the levels of zinc and copper in the liver tissue can be useful markers for liver tissue damage detection.

Liver tissue trace element levels in HepB patients and the relationship of these elements with histological injury in the liver and with clinical parameters.

AIM: In this study, the relationship of liver tissue trace element concentrations with hepatitis B disease and the effects of several environmental factors were analysed. METHOD: The liver tissue concentrations of Al, Fe, Cd, Mn, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn, Ag, and Co were evaluated in 92 patients with hepatitis B using the Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP/MS) method in the analyses. The patients were divided into the following two groups: low-high Ishak histologic activity index (HAI) (0-6: Low Histologic Activity, 7-18: High Histologic Activity) and low-high fibrosis (FS) (Fibrosis 1,1,2 and Fibrosis 3,4,5,6). The metal levels were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The Cd concentration was found to be statistically higher in the group with low HAI scores (p=0.019). The hepatic Cu concentration was found to be higher in women than in men (p=0.046). The hepatic Fe concentration was found to be higher in the group with increased FS compared to the group with decreased FS (p=0.033). Cd was found to be higher in patients who worked in positions involving exposure to heavy metals and in individuals with an ALT level above 40 IU/L (p=0.008). Several correlations have been found between the hepatic tissue metal levels in our study. In a linear regression analysis, Fe and Zn were found to be correlated with the fibrosis scores (p=<0.001 and p=0.029), and Cu was correlated with HAI (p=0.023). In the linear regression model, Ni (p=0.018) and Cr (p=0.011) were correlated with gender. There was a correlation between the hepatic Fe level and the location where hepatitis B patients were living (village/city) (p=0.001), frequency of fish consumption (p=0.045) and smoking (p=0.018) according to the linear regression analysis. Using a logistic regression analysis, Cr (p=0.029), Ni (p=0.031) and Pb (p=0.027) were found to be correlated with smoking habit, and Zn (p=0.010), Ag (p=0.026), Cd (p=0.007) and Al (p=0.005) were correlated with fish consumption. CONCLUSION: The liver tissue trace element levels are correlated with disease activity and histologic damage in patients with HepB disease. Additionally, smoking, the environment in which the patient works and the amount of fish consumption affect the accumulation of trace elements in the liver.

Comparison of the protective effects of antioxidant compounds in the liver and kidney of Cd- and Cr-exposed common carp.

The aim of this study was to see whether the taurine (TAU), alpha-lipoic acid (LA), curcumin (CUR), and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) protection against oxidative stress caused by heavy metals is owed to the metal-decreasing or antioxidative effect. In this context, liver and kidney tissues of common carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio L.) were exposed in vivo to model toxicants cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr). The tissues were dissected 96 h after intraperitoneal injection of the metals and antioxidant substances. Cd and Cr levels were determined in the liver using the ICP-OES, but we could not obtain enough kidney tissue to make the same measurements in the kidney. The enzymatic activities of SOD, CAT, and GPx, and the GSH redox status and lipid peroxidation levels were analyzed using spectrophotometric methods. Of all investigated antioxidants, only NAC decreased metal levels in the liver. Cd had little effect on oxidative stress parameters, while Cr showed a weak prooxidative effect. Cotreatment with TAU/LA/CUR/NAC and Cr significantly increased liver SOD activity. Chromium induced kidney SOD and CAT, but all antioxidants lowered CAT activity. Cadmium reduced liver and increased kidney GSSG. NAC increased liver GSH, but the increase did not correlate with decrease in Cd. Curcumin given with Cd increased kidney and decreased liver lipid peroxidation, whereas TAU with Cr increased lipid peroxidation in both tissues. N-Acetylcysteine was the most effective antioxidative agent, owing to its metal-decreasing function as well as to its effects on the GSH redox status. We believe that the investigated antioxidant substances which may have been involved in the reduction of Cr caused an increase in SOD activity and a decrease in CAT activity. Changes in the GSSG levels in both tissues might be an adaptive response to the prooxidative potential of Cd. Because of their respective tissue- and metal-dependent prooxidative effects, CUR and TAU deserve particular attention in regard to their use against metal toxicity, Cr in particular.

Antioxidative effects of N-acetylcysteine, lipoic acid, taurine, and curcumin in the muscle of Cyprinus carpio L. exposed to cadmium.

We investigated the muscle tissue of a teleost Cyprinus carpio L. to find out whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC), alpha-lipoic acid (LA), taurine (TAU), and curcumin (CUR) were able to counteract oxidative stress induced by acute exposure to cadmium (Cd). The muscle tissue was dissected 96 h after a single intraperitoneal injection of Cd (5 mg kg(-1)) and of antioxidant substances (50 mg kg(-1)). Using spectrophotometry, we determined the glutathione redox status, lipid peroxidation levels and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione disulphide reductase (GR). Accumulation of Cd in the muscle was analysed using inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).All substances lowered Cd levels in the following order of efficiency; LA=NAC>TAU=CUR. Cadmium increased SOD activity, but CAT activity declined, regardless of antioxidant treatment. Treatment with CUR induced GPx activity. Treatment with TAU lowered Cd due to higher total glutathione (tGSH). The most effective substances on lipid peroxidation were LA and NAC due to a greater Cd-lowering potential. It seems that the protective role of TAU, LA, and NAC is not necessarily associated with antioxidant enzymes, but rather with their own activity.

Seasonal variation in copper, zinc, chromium, lead and cadmium levels in hepatopancreas, gill and muscle tissues of the mussel Brachidontes pharaonis Fischer, collected along the Mersin coast, Turkey.

Levels of copper, zinc, cadmium, chromium and lead were determined in the gill, hepatopancreas and muscle tissues of Brachidontes pharaonis collected from the Mersin coasts of Turkey. Water and animal samples were collected monthly from the four stations between June 2002 and May 2003 for metal determinations. Metal levels in water samples of Mersin coasts were higher than those measured in other parts of Turkish coasts. Levels of metals in soft tissues of B. pharaonis showed an increase towards autumn and winter months which exceeded the levels that are recommended by Turkish Standart Institute's food codex.