Chronic cadmium exposure triggered ferroptosis by perturbing the STEAP3-mediated glutathione redox balance linked to altered metabolomic signatures in humans.

Cadmium (Cd), a predominant environmental pollutant, is a canonical toxicant that acts on the kidneys. However, the nephrotoxic effect and underlying mechanism activated by chronic exposure to Cd remain unclear. In the present study, male mice (C57BL/6J, 8 weeks) were treated with 0.6 mg/L cadmium chloride (CdCl2) administered orally for 6 months, and tubular epithelial cells (TCMK-1 cells) were treated with low-dose (1, 2, and 3 µM) CdCl2 for 72 h (h). Our study results revealed that environmental Cd exposure triggered ferroptosis and renal dysfunction. Spatially resolved metabolomics enabled delineation of metabolic profiles and visualization of the disruption to glutathione homeostasis related to ferroptosis in mouse kidneys. Multiomics analysis revealed that chronic Cd exposure induced glutathione redox imbalance that depended on STEAP3-driven lysosomal iron overload. In particular, glutathione metabolic reprogramming linked to ferroptosis emerged as a metabolic hallmark in the blood of Cd-exposed workers. In conclusion, this study provides the first evidence indicating that chronic Cd exposure triggers ferroptosis and renal dysfunction that depend on STEAP3-mediated glutathione redox imbalance, greatly increasing our understanding of the metabolic reprogramming induced by Cd exposure in the kidneys and providing novel clues linking chronic Cd exposure to nephrotoxicity.

Manganese overexposure induces Parkinson-like symptoms, altered lipid signature and oxidative stress in C57BL/6 J mouse.

Although adequate intake of manganese (Mn) is essential to humans, Mn in excess is neurotoxic. Exposure to extremely high doses of Mn results in "manganism", a condition that exhibits Parkinson-like symptoms. However, the mechanisms underlying its neurotoxic effects in Mn-induced parkinsonism pathogenesis are unclear. In this study, 8-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice were injected intraperitoneally with saline and 50 mg/kg MnCl2 respectively once daily for 14 days to produce an acute Mn neurotoxicity model. Accumulation of Mn in the midbrain, motor dysfunction and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra evidenced Mn neurotoxicity. Untargeted lipidomic analysis demonstrated that Mn overexposure altered lipidome profiles. A significant modulation of 12 lipid subclasses belonging to 5 different categories were found in the midbrain and among the most abundant lipids were sphingolipids, glycerophospholipids, and glycerides. The levels of sphingomyelin (SM) were significantly decreased after Mn treatment. The expression of SM biosynthesis genes was decreased dramatically while sphingomyelinase was up-regulated. In addition, we observed oxidative stress in both the midbrain of mice and MN9D cells, indicated by the increase of MDA level, the decrease of reduced GSH level and the inhibition of SOD and GPx enzyme activities. There was a correlation between these changes and motor dysfunctions. Overall, our study is the first to use lipidomics techniques to explore the pathogenesis of Mn-induced parkinsonism in C57BL/6 J mice. Mn induced molecular events in the midbrain, such as lipid metabolism disorders, oxidative stress and dopaminergic neurons injury, may mechanistically play important roles in the pathogenesis of Parkinson-like symptoms. Moreover, these findings emphasize the necessity for reducing the health risk of environmental neurotoxic pollutants in relation to parkinsonism.

PIN1-mediated ROS production is involved in antagonism of N-acetyl-L-cysteine against arsenic-induced hepatotoxicity.

Arsenic, a widely existing environmental contaminant, is recognized to be toxic to multiple organs. Exposure to arsenic results in liver damage via excessive production of reactive oxidative species (ROS). PIN1 regulates the levels of ROS. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) is an ROS scavenger that protects the hepatic functions. Whether PIN1 plays a regulatory role in NAC-mediated antagonism against arsenic hepatotoxicity remains largely unknown. In our study, the protective effects of NAC against arsenic (NaAsO2)-induced hepatotoxicity were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Arsenic exposure induced cytotoxicity by increasing the intracellular ROS production, impairing mitochondrial function and inducing apoptosis in L02 hepatocytes. Overexpression of PIN1 markedly protected against arsenic cytotoxicity, decreased ROS levels, and mitigated mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in L02 cells. However, loss of PIN1 further aggravated arsenic-induced cytotoxicity and abolished the protective effects of NAC in L02 cells. An in vivo study showed that pretreatment with NAC rescued arsenic-induced liver injury by restoring liver function and suppressing hepatic oxidative stress. Overexpression of PIN1 in mice transfected with AAV-Pin1 relieved arsenic-induced liver dysfunction and hepatic oxidative stress. Taken together, our study identified PIN1 as a novel intervention target for antagonizing arsenic-induced hepatotoxicity, highlighting a new pharmacological mechanism of NAC targeting PIN1 in antagonism against arsenic toxicity.

SOX2 modulated astrocytic process plasticity is involved in arsenic-induced metabolic disorders.

Metabolic disorders induced by arsenic exposure have attracted great public concern. However, it remains unclear whether hypothalamus-based central regulation mechanisms are involved in this process. Here, we exposed mice to 100 µg/L arsenic in drinking water and established a chronic arsenic exposure model. Our study revealed that chronic arsenic exposure caused metabolic disorders in mice including impaired glucose metabolism and decreased energy expenditure. Arsenic exposure also impaired glucose sensing and the activation of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the hypothalamus. In particular, arsenic exposure damaged the plasticity of hypothalamic astrocytic process. Further research revealed that arsenic exposure inhibited the expression of sex-determining region Y-Box 2 (SOX2), which decreased the expression level of insulin receptors (INSRs) and the phosphorylation of AKT. The conditional deletion of astrocytic SOX2 exacerbated arsenic-induced effects on metabolic disorders, the impairment of hypothalamic astrocytic processes, and the inhibition of INSR/AKT signaling. Furthermore, the arsenic-induced impairment of astrocytic processes and inhibitory effects on INSR/AKT signaling were reversed by SOX2 overexpression in primary hypothalamic astrocytes. Together, we demonstrated here that chronic arsenic exposure caused metabolic disorders by impairing SOX2-modulated hypothalamic astrocytic process plasticity in mice. Our study provides evidence of novel central regulatory mechanisms underlying arsenic-induced metabolic disorders and emphasizes the crucial role of SOX2 in regulating the process plasticity of adult astrocytes.

NAC antagonizes arsenic-induced neurotoxicity through TMEM179 by inhibiting oxidative stress in Oli-neu cells.

Arsenic is one of the most common environmental pollutants. Neurotoxicity induced by arsenic has become a major public health concern. However, the effects of arsenic-induced neurotoxicity in the brain and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) is a thiol-based antioxidant that can antagonize heavy metal-induced neurotoxicity by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we used the mouse oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) line Oli-neu to explore the neurotoxic effects of arsenic and the protective effects of NAC. We found that arsenic exposure decreased cell viability, increased oxidative stress, caused mitochondrial dysfunction, and led to apoptosis of Oli-neu cells. Furthermore, we revealed that NAC treatment reversed these neurotoxic effects of arsenic. TMEM179, a key membrane protein, was found highly expressed in OPCs and to be an important factor in maintaining mitochondrial functions. We found that TMEM179 played a critical role in mediating the neurotoxic effects of arsenic and the protective role of NAC. PKCß is a downstream factor through which TMEM179 regulates the expression of apoptosis-related proteins. This study improves our understanding of the neurotoxic effects and mechanisms of arsenic exposure and the protective effects of NAC. It also identifies a potential molecular target, TMEM179, for the treatment of arsenic-induced neurotoxicity.

Bioinformatic and Functional Analysis of a Key Determinant Underlying the Substrate Selectivity of the Al Transporter, Nrat1.

Nrat1 is a member of the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp) family of metal ion transporters in all organisms. Different from other Nramp members capable of transporting divalent metals, Nrat1 specifically transports trivalent aluminum (Al) ion. However, molecular mechanism underlying the Al transport selectivity of Nrat1 remains unknown. Here, we performed structure-function analyses of Nrat1 and other Nramp members to gain insights into the determinants of ion selectivity. A phylogenetic analysis showed that plant Nramp transporters could be divided into five groups. OsNrat1 was found in one of the individual clades and clustered with SbNrat1 and ZmNrat1 on the evolutionary tree. Structural modeling revealed that Nrat1 transporters adopted a common LeuT fold shared by many Nramp-family transporters that likely employed an identical transport mechanism. Sequence alignment and evolutionary conservation analysis of amino acids identified a metal-permeation pathway of Nrat1 centered at the metal binding site. The metal binding site of Nrat1 was characterized by two conserved sequence motifs, i.e., the Asp-Pro-Ser-Asn motif (motif A) and the Ala-Ile-Ile-Thr motif (motif B). Replacement of the Ala-Met-Val-Met motif B of the OsNramp3 manganese (Mn) transporter to that of Nrat1 resulted in a partial gain of Al transport activity and a total loss of Mn in yeast. Conversely, substitution of the motif B of OsNrat1 with that of OsNramp3 altered the Al transport activity. These observations indicated the metal binding site, particularly the motif B, as a key determinant of Al selectivity of Nrat1.

Functional characterization of the SbNrat1 gene in sorghum.

The Natural Resistance Associated Macrophage Protein (Nramp) members play diverse roles in metal transport in plants. Recent studies have showed that OsNrat1 (OsNramp4) encodes an Al transporter, which is required for rice Al tolerance. In this study, we functionally characterized a Nramp member in sorghum, SbNrat1, which is homologous to OsNrat1 with 88% identity. SbNrat1 was expressed in both roots and shoots, and its expression was not induced by Al treatment. When expressed in yeast, SbNrat1 transports trivalent Al ion, but not Mn and Cd. Furthermore, introduction of SbNrat1 into the rice mutant osnrat1 can rescue its sensitivity to Al. However, no correlation between Al tolerance and the expression level of SbNrat1 was found in thirteen sorghum cultivars tested. These results indicate that SbNrat1 functions as an Al transporter that is possibly involved in basic Al tolerance in sorghum.