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Maddalon A, Pierzchalski A, Krause JL, Bauer M, Finckh S, Brack W, Zenclussen AC, Marinovich M, Corsini E, Krauss M, Herberth G. Impact of chemical mixtures from wastewater treatment plant effluents on human immune cell activation: An effect-based analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167495. [PMID: 37804965 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Humans are exposed to many different chemicals on a daily basis, mostly as chemical mixtures, usually from food, consumer products and the environment. Wastewater treatment plant effluent contains mixtures of chemicals that have been discarded or excreted by humans and not removed by water treatment. These effluents contribute directly to water pollution, they are used in agriculture and may affect human health. The possible effect of such chemical mixtures on the immune system has not been characterized. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of extracts obtained from four European wastewater treatment plant effluents on human primary immune cell activation. METHODS Immune cells were exposed to the effluent extracts and modulation of cell activation was performed by multi-parameter flow cytometry. Messenger-RNA (mRNA) expression of genes related to immune system and hormone receptors was measured by RT-PCR. RESULTS The exposure of immune cells to these extracts, containing 339 detected chemicals, significantly reduced the activation of human lymphocytes, mainly affecting T helper and mucosal-associated invariant T cells. In addition, basophil activation was also altered upon mixture exposure. Concerning mRNA expression, we observed that 12 transcripts were down-regulated by at least one extract while 11 were up-regulated. Correlation analyses between the analyzed immune parameters and the concentration of chemicals in the WWTP extracts, highlighted the most immunomodulatory chemicals. DISCUSSION Our results suggest that the mixture of chemicals present in the effluents of wastewater treatment plants could be considered as immunosuppressive, due to their ability to interfere with the activation of immune cells, a process of utmost importance for the functionality of the immune system. The combined approach of immune effect-based analysis and chemical content analysis used in our study provides a useful tool for investigating the effect of environmental mixtures on the human immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ambra Maddalon
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Arkadiusz Pierzchalski
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jannike Lea Krause
- Schwiete Laboratory for Microbiota and Inflammation, German Rheumatism Research (DRFZ), Centre-a Leibniz Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mario Bauer
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Saskia Finckh
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Werner Brack
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Ana C Zenclussen
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; Perinatal Immunology Research Group, Medical Faculty, Saxonian Incubator for Clinical Translation (SIKT), University of Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marina Marinovich
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Emanuela Corsini
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Martin Krauss
- Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gunda Herberth
- Department of Environmental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
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Sun ZB, Hu YF, Song HJ, Cong SB, Wang L. Cry1Ac Mixed with Gentamicin Influences the Intestinal Microbial Diversity and Community Composition of Pink Bollworms. Life (Basel) 2023; 14:58. [PMID: 38255673 PMCID: PMC10820413 DOI: 10.3390/life14010058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Pink bollworms severely affect the production of cotton. The method currently used for pink bollworm control is the planting of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) protein-expressing transgenic cotton. However, pink bollworms can develop strong resistance to Bt proteins in transgenic cotton because of the large planting area and long planting time of this crop, which severely affects the control of pink bollworms. Intestinal microorganisms play very important roles in insect growth, development and Bt resistance. However, the effect of intestinal microorganisms on pink bollworm Bt resistance is still unclear. The current study aimed to analyze the effect of intestinal microorganisms on the Bt resistance of pink bollworms. Intestinal microorganisms associated with Bt resistance were initially screened through Illumina MiSeq sequencing and analysis. The results showed that feeding with a mixture of gentamicin, Cry1Ac and an artificial diet could significantly increase the mortality of pink bollworm larvae compared with feeding with of a mixture of Cry1Ac and an artificial diet or an artificial diet alone. The microbial diversity, community structure and composition of the pink bollworm larval intestine were significantly influenced by feeding with a mixture of gentamicin, Cry1Ac and an artificial diet. Several intestinal bacteria with significantly altered abundances after treatment with gentamicin were preliminarily screened as potential resources for addressing Bt toxicity. This study provides useful strategies for addressing the Bt resistance of pink bollworms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhan-Bin Sun
- China Food Flavor and Nutrition Health Innovation Center, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Ya-Feng Hu
- China Food Flavor and Nutrition Health Innovation Center, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Han-Jian Song
- China Food Flavor and Nutrition Health Innovation Center, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Sheng-Bo Cong
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Central China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Crop Disease, Insect Pests and Weeds Control, Institute of Plant Protection and Soil Science, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China
| | - Ling Wang
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Central China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Crop Disease, Insect Pests and Weeds Control, Institute of Plant Protection and Soil Science, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China
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