Metabolic Impairments Caused by a "Chemical Cocktail" of DDE and Selenium in Mice Using Direct Infusion Triple Quadrupole Time-of-Flight and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Gut-gonad crosstalk in mice exposed to a "chemical cocktail" combining metabolomics and microbial profile by amplicon sequencing

Testes are very prone to be damaged by environmental pollutants, but there is a lack of information about the impact of "chemical cocktails" (CC) on the testicular metabolome and the possible influence in the gut-gonad crosstalk. For this, BALB/c mice were given flumequine and diclofenac orally in food and potentially toxic trace elements (Cd, Hg, As) in drinking water. A mice group was supplemented with selenium, a well-known antagonist against many pollutants. Our results revealed that the steroid 5-alpha-androstan-17-beta-ol propionate, suggested as a parameter of androgenicity independent of testosterone levels, proline that improves reproductive indicators in male rabbits affected by environmental stress) among others metabolites are only present after CC exposure with rodent and selenium supplemented diet. Selenium also antagonized the up-or down-regulation of anandamide (20:l, n-9) (p < 0.001 and FC 0.54 of CC vs C but p > 0,05 and FC 0.74 of CC-Se vs C), that regulates gonadotropin-releasing hormones in mammals, 2,3-dinor-11b-PGF2a (p < 0.001 and FC 0.12 of CC vs C but p > 0,05 and FC 0.34 of CC-Se vs C), which has been related with reproductive hormones, besides others testicular metabolites altered by the exposure to the CC and reversed the levels to control. Moreover, numerous significant associations between gut microbes and testicular metabolites indicated a possible impact of pollutants in the testes mediated by gut microbiota due to a gut-gonad crosstalk.

Omics insights into the responses to dietary selenium

Selenium is a well-known health-relevant element related with cancer chemoprevention, neuroprotective roles, beneficial in diabetes, and in several infectious diseases, among others. It is naturally present in some foods, but deficiency in people led to the production of nutraceuticals, supplements, and functional food enriched in this element. There is a U-shaped link between selenium levels and health and a narrow range between toxic and essential levels, and thus, supplementation should be performed carefully. Omics methodologies have become valuable approaches to delve into the responses of dietary selenium in mammals that allowed a deeper knowledge about the metabolism of this element as well as its biological role. In this review, we discuss omics approaches from the workflows to their applications that has been previously used to deep insight into the metabolism of dietary selenium. There is a special focus on selenoproteins, metabolomics responses in blood and tissues (e.g., brain, reproductive organs, etc.) as well as the impact on gut microbiota and its metabolites profile. Thus, we mainly reviewed heteroatom-tagged proteomics, metallomics, metabolomics, and metataxonomics, usually combined with transcriptomics, genomics, and other molecular methods.

Selenite-Catalyzed Reaction between Benzoquinone and Acetylacetone Deciphered the Enhanced Inhibition on Microcystis aeruginosa Growth

The coexistence of selenite (Se(IV)) and acetylacetone (AA) generated a synergistic effect on the growth inhibition of a bloom-forming cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is of great significance in the control of harmful algal blooms. To elucidate the role of Se(IV) in this effect, the reactions in ternary solutions composed of Se(IV), AA (or two other similar hydrogen donors), and quinones, especially benzoquinone (BQ), were investigated. The transformation kinetic results demonstrate that Se(IV) played a catalytic role in the reactions between AA (or ascorbic acid) and quinones. By comparison with five other oxyanions (sulfite, sulfate, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate) and two AA derivatives, the formation of an AA-Se(IV) complexation intermediate was confirmed as a key step in the accelerated reactions between BQ and AA. To our knowledge, this is the first report on Se(IV) as a catalyst for quinone-involved reactions. Since both quinones and Se are essential in cells and there are many other chemicals of similar electron-donating properties to that of AA, the finding here shed light on the regulation of electron transport chains in a variety of processes, especially the redox balances that are tuned by quinones and glutathione.

Impact of "chemical cocktails" exposure in shaping mice gut microbiota and the role of selenium supplementation combining metallomics, metabolomics, and metataxonomics

Biological systems are exposed to a complex environment in which pollutants can interact through synergistic or antagonistic mechanisms, but limited information is available on the combined effects. To this end, conventional and antibiotic-treated (Abx) mice models were fed regular rodent or selenium (Se) supplemented diets and exposed to a "chemical cocktail" (CC) including metals and pharmaceuticals. Metallomics, metabolomics, and metataxomics were combined to delve into the impact on gut microbiota, plasma selenoproteome, metabolome, and arsenic metabolization. At the molecular level, Se decreased the concentration of the antioxidant glutathione peroxidase in plasma and increased the arsenic methylation rate, possibly favoring its excretion, but not in the Abx and also plasma metabolomes of Abx, and Abx-Se were not differentiated. Moreover, numerous associations were obtained between plasma selenoproteins and gut microbes. Se-supplementation partially antagonizes the gut microbiota alteration caused by Abx, and slightly by CC, but strongly altered profiles were observed in CC-Abx-Se, suggesting synergistic deleterious effects between pollutants, Abx and Se. Moreover, although CC and Abx changed gut microbiota, several common taxa were enriched in CC-Abx and control mice, indicating possible synergistic effects. Our results suggest a potential beneficial impact of supplementation, but mediated by gut microbes being reversed in their absence.

Mice brain metabolomics after the exposure to a "chemical cocktail" and selenium supplementation through the gut-brain axis

Several environmental pollutants have been shown to damage brain and affect gut microbiota. Limited evidence is available about the impact of "chemical cocktails" (CC) of xenobiotics on brain metabolome and their possible influence in the gut-brain crosstalk. To this end, BALB/c mice were exposed to heavy metals (As, Hg, Cd) and pharmaceuticals (diclofenac and flumequine) under regular rodent diet or supplemented with selenium (Se). Selenium, an antioxidant well-known for its antagonism against the neurotoxicity of several pollutants, modulated several brain metabolic impairments caused by CC (e.g., brain levels of the excitatory amino acid N-acetyl aspartic acid) by influencing mainly the metabolisms of purine, glycosylate and dicarboxylate, glutamate, glycerophospholipid, alanine and aspartate. Numerous associations were obtained between brain metabolites and gut microbes and they changed after Se-supplementation (e.g., Lactobacillus was positively associated with a brain ceramide, phosphoserine, phosphocholine, vitamin D3 derivative, fatty acids, malic acid, amino acids, and urea after the exposure, but not after Se-supplementation). Our results showed numerous evidences about the impact of CC on brain metabolome, the potential role of Se as an antagonist and their impact on the gut-brain axis. Further research is needed to understand the complex mechanism of action implied on CC-brain-microbiota interactions.

Pesticides Exposure-Induced Changes in Brain Metabolome: Implications in the Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Disorders

Pesticides have been used in agriculture, public health programs, and pharmaceuticals for many decades. Though pesticides primarily target pests by affecting their nervous system and causing other lethal effects, these chemical entities also exert toxic effects in inadvertently exposed humans through inhalation or ingestion. Mounting pieces of evidence from cellular, animal, and clinical studies indicate that pesticide-exposed models display metabolite alterations of pathways involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Hence, identifying common key metabolites/metabolic pathways between pesticide-induced metabolic reprogramming and neurodegenerative diseases is necessary to understand the etiology of pesticides in the rise of neurodegenerative disorders. The present review provides an overview of specific metabolic pathways, including tryptophan metabolism, glutathione metabolism, dopamine metabolism, energy metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, fatty acids, and lipid metabolism that are specifically altered in response to pesticides. Furthermore, we discuss how these metabolite alterations are linked to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and to identify novel biomarkers for targeted therapeutic approaches.

Analysis of Indirect Biomarkers of Effect after Exposure to Low Doses of Bisphenol A in a Study of Successive Generations of Mice

Simple Summary

Living beings are constantly and inadvertently exposed to a series of environmental and food pollutants, triggering effects on health that are transmitted over generations. Bisphenol A is a compound produced in large amounts world-wide and used in the manufacture of plastic containers and other utensils for daily use. It is an environmental and food pollutant with a demonstrated capacity to produce effects on the health of organisms exposed to it. The objective of our study was to identify possible indirect biomarkers of effect by means of the analysis of the blood biochemistry, and of certain reproductive parameters of animals exposed to Bisphenol A in doses considered to be safe over different generations. Our results did not show any modifications in the reproduction parameters evaluated, such as the duration of the estrous cycle, the size of the litters, or the percentage of the young alive at weaning time. However, they showed that there were alterations in biochemical parameters like glucose, total proteins, and albumin, which could therefore, be regarded as indirect indicators of an early effect of alterations in health caused by this compound.

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is considered as being an emerging pollutant, to which both animal and human populations are continuously and inadvertently exposed. The identification of indirect biomarkers of effect could be a key factor in determining early adverse outcomes from exposure to low doses of BPA. Thus, this study on mice aims to evaluate and identify indirect biomarkers of effect through the analysis of their blood biochemistry, and of certain reproduction parameters after exposure to different BPA concentrations (0.5, 2, 4, 50, and 100 µg/kg BW/day) in drinking water over generations. Our results showed that there were no modifications in the reproductive parameters evaluated, like estrous cycle duration, litter size, or the percentage of the young alive at reaching the weaning stage, at the exposure levels evaluated. However, there were modifications in the biochemical parameters, e.g., alterations in the glucose levels, that increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the breeders at the higher exposure doses (50 and 100 µg/kg BW/day in F1; 50 µg/kg BW/day in F2 and 100 µg/kg BW/day in F3), that would suggest that the BPA could induce hyperglycemia and its complications in adult animals, probably due to some damage in the pancreas cells; albumin, that increased in the breeders exposed to the highest dose in F1 and F3, inferring possible hepatic alterations. Further, total proteins showed a diminution in their values in F1 and F2, except the group exposed to 100 µg/kg BW/day, whereas in F3 the values of this parameter increased with respect to the control group, this aspect likely being related to a possible hepatic and renal alteration. Based on these results, glucose, albumin, and total proteins could initially be considered as early indicators of indirect effect after prolonged exposure to low BPA doses over generations.

Parkinson's Disease and Impairment in Mitochondrial Metabolism: A Pathognomic Signature

Mitochondrial bioenergetics is vital for the proper functioning of cellular compartments. Impairments in mitochondrial DNA encoding the respiratory chain complexes and other assisting proteins, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, an imbalance in cellular calcium transport, or the presence of organic pollutants, high fat-ketogenic diets or toxins, and advancing age can result in complex disorders, including cancer, metabolic disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. Such manifestations are distinctly exhibited in several age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as in Parkinson's disease (PD). Defects in complex I along with perturbed signaling pathways is a common manifestation of PD. Impaired oxidative phosphorylation could increase the susceptibility to PD. Therefore, unraveling the mechanisms of mitochondrial complexes in clinical scenarios will assist in developing potential early biomarkers and standard tests for energy failure diagnosis and assist to pave a new path for targeted therapeutics against PD.