Neurotoxicity of ethyl methacrylate in rats

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-A case report and mechanistic review of the association with toluene and other volatile organic compounds

Unmasking of latent neurodegenerative disease has been reported following exposure to chemicals that share one or more mechanisms of action in common with those implicated in the specific disease. For example, unmasking of latent Parkinson's disease (PD) has been associated with exposure to anti-dopaminergic agents, while the progression of pre-existing mild cognitive impairment and unmasking of latent Alzheimer's disease has been associated with exposure to general anesthetic agents which promote Aβ protein aggregation. This literature review and clinical case report about a 45-year-old man with no family history of motor neuron disease who developed overt symptoms of a neuromuscular disorder in close temporal association with his unwitting occupational exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) puts forth the hypothesis that exposure to VOCs such as toluene, which disrupt motor function and increase oxidative stress, can unmask latent ALS type neuromuscular disorder in susceptible individuals.

Molecular mechanism of acrylamide neurotoxicity: lessons learned from organic chemistry

BACKGROUND

Acrylamide (ACR) produces cumulative neurotoxicity in exposed humans and laboratory animals through a direct inhibitory effect on presynaptic function.

OBJECTIVES

In this review, we delineate how knowledge of chemistry provided an unprecedented understanding of the ACR neurotoxic mechanism. We also show how application of the hard and soft, acids and bases (HSAB) theory led to the recognition that the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl structure of ACR is a soft electrophile that preferentially forms covalent bonds with soft nucleophiles.

METHODS

In vivo proteomic and in chemico studies demonstrated that ACR formed covalent adducts with highly nucleophilic cysteine thiolate groups located within active sites of presynaptic proteins. Additional research showed that resulting protein inactivation disrupted nerve terminal processes and impaired neurotransmission.

DISCUSSION

ACR is a type-2 alkene, a chemical class that includes structurally related electrophilic environmental pollutants (e.g., acrolein) and endogenous mediators of cellular oxidative stress (e.g., 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal). Members of this chemical family produce toxicity via a common molecular mechanism. Although individual environmental concentrations might not be toxicologically relevant, exposure to an ambient mixture of type-2 alkene pollutants could pose a significant risk to human health. Furthermore, environmentally derived type-2 alkenes might act synergistically with endogenously generated unsaturated aldehydes to amplify cellular damage and thereby accelerate human disease/injury processes that involve oxidative stress.

CONCLUSIONS

These possibilities have substantial implications for environmental risk assessment and were realized through an understanding of ACR adduct chemistry. The approach delineated here can be broadly applied because many toxicants of different chemical classes are electrophiles that produce toxicity by interacting with cellular proteins.

1H and13C NMR Chemical Shifts of Methacrylate Molecules Associated with DMPC and/or DPPC Liposomes

In the light of recent developments, changes in (1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shifts of methacrylate molecule associated with DMPC (L-alpha dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine) or DPPC (L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine) liposomes as a model for mimic native lipid bilayers were studied at 30, 37, and 52 degrees C. The chemical shifts of 3Ha, 3C, and 4C resonances in methacrylates (see Fig. 2) were greatly shifted higher field, suggesting the methacrylate molecule-lipid bilayer interaction. Comparison of the findings with methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) revealed that the interaction of dimethacrylates (EDMA, TEGDMA) was greater than monomethacrylate, MMA. Their interaction with DMPC liposomes was also judged by a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), indicating that the interaction was characterized by decreasing the enthalpy, entropy, and transition co-operativity. The evidence of the upfield NMR-shifts for methacrylate molecules was also judged by the descriptors such as the reactivity (HOMO-LUMO energy) and the electrostatic function (partial charges) between methacrylate molecules and DPPC, calculated by a PM 3 semiempirical MO method. The upfield NMR shifts were considerably well interpreted from the descriptors. NMR screening technique in methacrylates to phospholipid targets would be highly valuable in biomaterial developments. Figure 2 Changes in (1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shifts of methacrylate molecule associated with DMPC or DPPC liposomes. DMPC liposomes/MMA (1:1, molar ratio) and DMPC/TEGDMA (1:1) liposomes were measured at 30 degrees C. In DPPC liposome system, the rippled gel phase was measured at 30 degrees C, whereas the liquid crystalline phase for MMA and for both EDMA and TEGDMA were measured at 52 degrees C and 37 degrees C, respectively.