Protective Effects of N-acetylcysteine Niosome Nanoparticles on Paraquatinduced Nephrotoxicity in Male Rats

Abnormalities of serum lipid metabolism in patients with acute paraquat poisoning caused by ferroptosis

As the mechanism of paraquat (PQ) poisoning is still not fully elucidated, and no specific treatment has been developed in medical practice, the management of PQ poisoning continues to present a medical challenge. In this study, the objective was to investigate the early metabolic changes in serum metabolism and identify the key metabolic pathways involved in patients with PQ poisoning. Quantitative analysis was conducted to determine the relevant metabolites. Additionally, experiments were carried out in both plasma and cell to elucidate the mechanisms underlying metabolic disorder and cell death in PQ poisoning. The study found that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites, such as arachidonic acid (AA) and hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), were significantly increased by non-enzymatic oxidative reaction. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production increased rapidly at 2 h after PQ poisoning, followed by an increase in PUFAs at 12 h, and intracellular glutathione, cysteine (Cys), and Fe2+ at 24 h. However, at 36 h later, intracellular glutathione and Cys decreased, HETEs increased, and the expression of SLC7A11 and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) decreased. Ultrastructural examination revealed the absence of mitochondrial cristae. Deferoxamine was found to alleviate lipid oxidation, and increase the viability of PQ toxic cells in the low dose. In conclusion, unsaturated fatty acids metabolism was the key metabolic pathways in PQ poisoning. PQ caused cell death through the induction of ferroptosis. Inhibition of ferroptosis could be a novel strategy for the treatment of PQ poisoning.

Neuroprotective effects of crocin and crocin-loaded niosomes against the paraquat-induced oxidative brain damage in rats

Paraquat (PQ) is a nonselective herbicide that induces oxidative reactions and multiple-organ failure on exposure. Crocin, a carotenoid obtained from saffron, has demonstrated many therapeutic effects against neural conditions because of its antioxidant properties. In this study, 30 male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups to evaluate the protective effects of crocin and crocin-loaded niosomes (NC) against PQ in the brain. The levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), lipid peroxidation (LPO), total thiol groups (TTG), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activity were measured as the markers of redox status. Histopathological changes in the CA1 region of the hippocampus were evaluated by cresyl violet staining. Results indicated that both crocin and NC were able to attenuate the adverse effects of PQ at the histopathological level, which was following the changes in LPO (P < 0.0001), TAC (P < 0.01), and TTG (P < 0.05) level. The activity of CAT (P < 0.01) and SOD (P < 0.01) could be restored either by crocin or NC. Also, results indicated that nanoformulation of crocin in niosomes appears to be more promising. In conclusion, both crocin and NC showed favourable effects of PQ in the brain of rats, and were determined to be excellent agents to prevent acute toxicities of PQ. Furthermore, these two compounds can be known to provide neuroprotection.