Histopathological changes in selenium-exposed fish

PI3K inhibitors are finally coming of age

Overactive phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in cancer and immune dysregulation has spurred extensive efforts to develop therapeutic PI3K inhibitors. Although progress has been hampered by issues such as poor drug tolerance and drug resistance, several PI3K inhibitors have now received regulatory approval - the PI3Kα isoform-selective inhibitor alpelisib for the treatment of breast cancer and inhibitors mainly aimed at the leukocyte-enriched PI3Kδ in B cell malignancies. In addition to targeting cancer cell-intrinsic PI3K activity, emerging evidence highlights the potential of PI3K inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy. This Review summarizes key discoveries that aid the clinical translation of PI3Kα and PI3Kδ inhibitors, highlighting lessons learnt and future opportunities.

Tissue-specific selenium accumulation and toxicity in adult female Xenopus laevis chronically exposed to elevated dietary selenomethionine

Selenium (Se) is a developmental toxicant that is also capable of altering the bioenergetic and endocrine status of adult fish. To date, aquatic ecotoxicological research has predominantly focused on the toxic effects of Se in fish, and minimal information has been published related to amphibians. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential toxicity associated with chronically elevated dietary Se consumption in adult female amphibians utilizing the model species Xenopus laevis. Adult X. laevis females were fed a diet augmented with L-selenomethionine at measured concentrations of 0.7 µg Se/g (control), 10.9 µg Se/g, 30.4 µg Se/g, or 94.2 µg Se/g dry mass for 68 d, after which they were bred with untreated males. Ovary, egg, liver, muscle, and blood samples were collected from female frogs after completion of the exposure period and subsequent breeding to ascertain Se tissue distribution, muscle and liver triglyceride and glycogen levels, and plasma cortisol concentrations. The concentrations of Se measured in female tissues excluding the liver were significantly increased in proportion with dietary intake. No significant differences were observed among treatment groups with respect to biometric indices, energy stores, or stress response of adult female X. laevis after Se exposure, which suggests that this amphibian species is capable of accumulating substantial quantities of this element in their tissues with no adverse effects on fitness. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1047-1055. © 2016 SETAC.

Assessing the toxic threat of selenium to fish and aquatic birds

A procedure is given for evaluating the toxic threat of selenium to fish and wildlife. Toxic threat is expressed as hazard, and is based on the potential for food-chain bioaccumulation and reproductive impairment in fish and aquatic birds, which are the most sensitive biological responses for estimating ecosystem-level impacts of selenium contamination. Five degrees of hazard are possible depending on the expected environmental concentrations of selenium, exposure of fish and aquatic birds to toxic concentrations, and resultant potential for reproductive impairment. The degree of hazard is given a numerical score: 5 = high hazard, 4 = moderate hazard, 3 = low hazard, 2 = minimal hazard, and 1 = no identifiable hazard. A separate hazard score is given to each of five ecosystem components; water, sediments, benthic macroinvertebrates, fish eggs, and aquatic bird eggs. A final hazard characterization is determined by adding individual scores and comparing the total to the following evaluation criteria: 5 = no hazard, 6-8 = minimal hazard, 9-11 = low hazard, 12-15 = moderate hazard, 16-25 = high hazard. An example is given to illustrate how the procedure is applied to selenium data from a typical contaminant monitoring program.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia in the rat induced by a selenium-enriched diet: study of a model

Weaned male rats were fed a 4 ppm selenium diet. Compared after 2 mo with a control group fed a 0.4 ppm diet, the rats' body weights had not significantly decreased and liver function was normal, but portal pressure was 1.8 times higher (p less than 0.05). Liver weight was slightly increased (10.3%; p less than 0.05). All livers had an abnormal appearance. In the less severe cases the surface was only slightly irregular, but in the more severe cases, atrophic micronodular lobes and hypertrophic lobes, with mildly irregular surfaces, were present. On light microscopy, atrophic lobes displayed a peripheral nodular zone with micronodules separated by rows of atrophic hepatocytes without fibrosis, characteristic of nodular regenerative hyperplasia, and a central atrophic zone that was sometimes peliotic. Hypertrophic lobes and livers in the less severe cases had only minor and relatively localized evidence of nodular regenerative hyperplasia; occasional peliosis was seen. In all cases portal veins, hepatic veins and hepatic arteries were normal. By electron microscopy, in nonnodular zones with no obvious evidence of parenchymal atrophy, the endothelial wall showed signs of complete or incomplete capillarization with frequent enlargement of the Disse space. The selenium-enriched diet is a reproducible model of liver nodular regenerative hyperplasia. In this model, damage to the sinusoidal wall could represent the primum movens of microcirculatory disturbances.

Selenium accumulation, reproductive status, and histopathological changes in environmentally exposed redear sunfish

Comparisons were made of the accumulation of selenium, histopathological damage, and reproductive status of redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) collected in July 1986 from Martin Lake (a contaminated site) and Lake Tyler (a reference site). Hepatic concentrations of selenium were four times higher in Martin Lake sunfish (7.6 +/- 0.5 ppm) than in fish from the reference lake (2.1 +/- 0.2 ppm). Redears collected from the contaminated lake had lower condition factors than individuals collected from the reference site. Sunfish with elevated levels of hepatic selenium had substantial alterations in the liver including necrosis, cytoplasmic vacuolation, and Kupffer cell proliferation. The ovaries of mature fish collected from Martin Lake frequently had atretic follicles, abnormally shaped follicles, connective tissue hypertrophy, asynchronous oocyte development, and an overall reduction in the number of developing oocytes. These histopathological changes in the ovaries of Martin Lake sunfish were not accompanied by alterations in gonadal steroid titers in the blood. No histopathological lesions could be detected in the testes of Martin Lake fish. Most of the males collected from the contaminated site were immature and had lower circulating levels of sex steroid hormones than reference males. The results show that tissue burdens of selenium have declined by 25% since this sunfish population was sampled last in 1981. Further, the results of this study indicate that the overall health and reproductive status of selenium-contaminated fish collected from Martin Lake is still seriously impaired.

Ultrastructural cytochemical analysis of intranuclear arsenic inclusions

To establish the chemical composition of the arsenic inclusion, freshly isolated preparations of inclusions and epon-embedded thin sections of inclusions were subjected to ultrastructural cytochemical analysis. Intranuclear inclusions are composed of amorphous, arsenic-containing subunits aligned linearly to form a coiled complex. Lipase, ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease, trypsin, pepsin, protease, amylase, or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was used to digest or chelate these inclusions. Following enzymatic digestion or chelation, the electron opacity of inclusions was compared with that of control sections exposed for equal times to equivalent solutions lacking the enzymes. Exposure to amylase caused a consistent reduction in the electron opacity of thin sections of inclusions and almost complete digestion of the freshly isolated preparations of inclusions. This was indicative of the presence of a carbohydrate moiety within arsenic inclusions. Incubation of inclusions with EDTA resulted in solubilization of freshly isolated and thin-sectioned embedded material. These data indicated that the intranuclear arsenic inclusion is composed of both metallic and carbohydrate moieties, confirming earlier studies which identified arsenic within inclusions using instrumental neutron activation analysis and X-ray microprobe analysis.

Ecological basis for regulating aquatic emissions from the power industry: the case with selenium

Selenium can have severe ecological impacts on aquatic ecosystems even when waterborne concentrations are in the low microgram per liter (ppb) range. Episodes of environmental contamination have occurred that clearly illustrate the potential toxicity of this trace element to aquatic organisms. Wastes and effluents produced by the power industry are highly concentrated sources of selenium and constitute hazardous wastes when introduced into aquatic ecosystems. The continued use of a wet-basin system of coal-ash disposal at power plants is only feasible if several environmental variables are considered along with models of trace element cycling and accumulation, and pretreatment of effluents. Other power industry operations, such as coal gasification and liquifaction, must include provisions for treating effluents as an integral part of construction design. The ecological data base indicates that new, rigorous water quality criteria for selenium are needed; criteria presently proposed by EPA and others would not protect freshwater life if adopted as standards by regulatory agencies. This data base has been utilized by the State of North Carolina to develop sound, defensible environmental standards for selenium in surface waters. Ecological information can be used nationwide to establish reasonable and prudent regulations governing selenium-laden effluents from the power industry.