Developmental toxicity of lead in rats after gestational exposure and the protective role of taurine

The Protective Effects of Taurine, a Non-essential Amino Acid, Against Metals Toxicities: A Review Article

Taurine is a non-proteinogenic amino acid derived from cysteine. It is involved in several phenomena such as the regulation of growth and differentiation, osmoregulation, neurohormonal modulation, and lipid metabolism. Taurine is important because of its high levels in several tissues such as the central nervous system (CNS), heart, skeletal muscles, retinal membranes, and platelets. In this report, we present the functional properties of taurine indicating that it has potential effects on various metal toxicities. Therefore, a comprehensive literature review was performed using the Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. According to the search keywords, 61 articles were included in the study. The results indicate that taurine protects tissues against metal toxicity through enhancement of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity, modulation of oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects, involvement in different molecular pathways, and interference with the activity of various enzymes. Taken together, taurine is a natural supplement that presents antitoxic effects against many types of compounds, especially metals, suggesting public consumption of this amino acid as a prophylactic agent against the incidence of metal toxicity.

Protective effect of Agaricus bisporus mushroom against maternal and fetal damage induced by lead administration during pregnancy in rats

INTRODUCTION

Lead (Pb) is a toxic pollutant, which can affect different tissues of the human body. The use of natural elements, as medicinal mushroom can reduce the toxic effects of Pb.

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated, through preclinical tests, the oral co exposures to mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Ab) by gavage and Pb in drinking water, and the capability of Ab be a protective agent for both pregnant rats and their fetuses.

METHODS

Female Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 5/group): Group I-Control; Group II-Ab 100 mg/kg; Group III-Pb 100 mg/L; Group IV-Ab +Pb -100 mg/kg +100 mg/L. Exposure was performed until the 19th day of gestation. On the 20th day, pregnant rats were euthanized, and the outcomes evaluated were weight gain; hematological profile; biochemical markers; oxidative stress markers; reproductive capacity; and embryo fetal development.

RESULTS

The characterization of mushrooms reveals them to be a valuable source of nutrients. However, Pb ingestion resulted in reduced weight gain and negative impacts on hematological and biochemical parameters. Fortunately, co administration of mushrooms helped to mitigate these negative effects and promote recovery. The mushroom also showed antioxidant activity, improving parameters of oxidative stress. In addition, Ab partially recovered the damage in fetal morphology and bone parameters.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated that the co administration of Ab improved the toxicity caused by Pb, and the mushroom could be used as a natural alternative as a protective/chelator agent.

Hepatoprotective Effects of Taurine Against Cadmium-Induced Liver Injury in Female Mice

Cadmium (Cd), a heavy metal contaminant, seriously threatens human and animal health. Taurine (Tau) has been used against hepatotoxicity caused by different environmental toxins. However, it has not been elucidated whether Tau exerts its protective function against Cd-induced hepatotoxicity. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the ameliorative function of Tau (500 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally) on Cd-induced (2 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally) liver toxicity in mice for 14 days. The histopathologic and ultrastructure changes as well as alterations in indexes related to liver function, antioxidant biomarkers, inflammatory, and apoptosis were evaluated. The results showed that Tau alleviated the vacuolar degeneration, nuclear condensation, mitochondria swelling, and cristae lysis of hepatocytes induced by Cd. In addition, Tau treatment significantly reduced the ALT, AST levels in serum, and inflammatory factor TNF-α and IL-1β in liver tissue. Furthermore, Tau treatment decreased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and cleaved caspase-3 protein expression levels. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that Tau has an important hepatic protective function against the inflammation and apoptosis induced by Cd.

Evaluation of Antibacterial Effects of Matrix-Induced Silver Ions against Antibiotic-Resistant ESKAPE Pathogens

Recently, drug-resistant bacterial infections, especially ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.), have become a critical health issue worldwide, highlighting the emerging need for novel antibacterial agents. In this study, silver nanoparticles were extracted from silver-containing mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG-Ag) using four different matrixes, including water, phosphate buffer saline (PBS), tryptic soy broth (TSB), and taurine (Tau). The inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) results demonstrated that the silver concentration of Tau-Ag was the highest among the four matrixes. The Tau-Ag was also observed to have 87.35% silver ions in its X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) spectra. The micrograph of transmission electron microscope (TEM) displayed a uniform distribution of silver nanoparticles, which was confined in a smaller size compared to that in TSB-Ag. Moreover, the peak shifts observed in the Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) spectrum implied that the -SO₃²⁻ and -NH groups in taurine may interact with silver. A low cytotoxicity was noted for Tau-Ag, with approximately 70% of cells surviving at 0.63 mg/mL. Compared to the other three matrix-induced silver agents, Tau-Ag represented a better antibacterial effect against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.63 mg/mL and a postponed growth of 0.31 mg/mL observed. Further antibacterial examinations illustrated the presence of remarkable antibacterial activities against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus feacium, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Given our observations and multiple bioactive functions of taurine (prevent patients from inflammation and oxidative-stress injuries), we anticipate that taurine matrix-induced silver ions would be a biomedical material with a high potential for combatting drug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens.