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Zhang Q, Yang Y, Liu J, Wu Y, Liu Y, Zhang J. Testicular dysfunction and "its recovery effect" after cadmium exposure. Food Chem Toxicol 2024; 188:114656. [PMID: 38615797 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2024.114656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Revised: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, with the acceleration of industrialization, the decline of male fertility caused by heavy metal pollution has attracted much attention. However, whether the inhibition of testicular function after cadmium exposure is reversible remains to be studied. In this study, we constructed rat models of cadmium exposure and dis-exposure, and collected relative samples to observe the changes of related indicators. The results showed that cadmium exposure could reduce the fertility, inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-testis axis and activate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function, the testicular GR/PI3K-AKT/AMPK signal was abnormal, cell proliferation was inhibited and apoptosis was enhanced. Four weeks after the exposure was stopped, the fertility was still decreased, testicular testosterone synthesis and spermatogenesis were inhibited, cell proliferation was inhibited and apoptosis was enhanced, but all of them were reversed. After eight weeks of cadmium exposure, the above indicators were observed to return to normal. At the same time, by giving different concentrations of corticosterone to spermatogonium, we confirmed that corticosterone may regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of spermatogonium through GR/PI3K-AKT/AMPK signal. In this study, the reproductive toxicity of cadmium, a metal environmental pollutant, was analyzed in depth to provide a new theoretical and experimental basis for ensuring male reproductive health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, Hubei, 445000, China
| | - YanLing Yang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, Hubei, 445000, China
| | - Juan Liu
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, Hubei, 445000, China
| | - YuJiao Wu
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, Hubei, 445000, China
| | - Yi Liu
- WuHan University, WuHan, Hubei, 430070, China.
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Central Hospital of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi, Hubei, 445000, China.
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Khalifa A, Palu R, Perkins AE, Volz A. Prenatal alcohol exposure alters expression of genes involved in cell adhesion, immune response, and toxin metabolism in adolescent rat hippocampus. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0293425. [PMID: 38271377 PMCID: PMC10810486 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can result in mild to severe consequences for children throughout their lives, with this range of symptoms referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). These consequences are thought to be linked to changes in gene expression and transcriptional programming in the brain, but the identity of those changes, and how they persist into adolescence are unclear. In this study, we isolated RNA from the hippocampus of adolescent rats exposed to ethanol during prenatal development and compared gene expression to controls. Briefly, dams were either given free access to standard chow ad libitum (AD), pair-fed a liquid diet (PF) or were given a liquid diet with ethanol (6.7% ethanol, ET) throughout gestation (gestational day (GD) 0-20). All dams were given control diet ad libitum beginning on GD 20 and throughout parturition and lactation. Hippocampal tissue was collected from adolescent male and female offspring (postnatal day (PD) 35-36). Exposure to ethanol caused widespread downregulation of many genes as compared to control rats. Gene ontology analysis demonstrated that affected pathways included cell adhesion, toxin metabolism, and immune responses. Interestingly, these differences were not strongly affected by sex. Furthermore, these changes were consistent when comparing ethanol-exposed rats to pair-fed controls provided with a liquid diet and those fed ad libitum on a standard chow diet. We conclude from this study that changes in genetic architecture and the resulting neuronal connectivity after prenatal exposure to alcohol continue through adolescent development. Further research into the consequences of specific gene expression changes on neural and behavioral changes will be vital to our understanding of the FASD spectrum of diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amal Khalifa
- Department of Computer Science, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America
| | - Rebecca Palu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America
| | - Amy E. Perkins
- Department of Psychology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America
| | - Avery Volz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America
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Noor S, Sun MS, Pasmay AA, Pritha AN, Ruffaner-Hanson CD, Nysus MV, Jimenez DC, Murphy M, Savage DD, Valenzuela CF, Milligan ED. Prenatal alcohol exposure promotes NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent immune actions following morphine treatment and paradoxically prolongs nerve injury-induced pathological pain in female mice. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 47:2262-2277. [PMID: 38151779 PMCID: PMC10764094 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroimmune dysregulation from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) may contribute to neurological deficits associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). PAE is a risk factor for developing peripheral immune and spinal glial sensitization and release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β, which lead to neuropathic pain (allodynia) from minor nerve injury. Although morphine acts on μ-opioid receptors, it also activates immune receptors, TLR4, and the NLRP3 inflammasome that induces IL-1β. We hypothesized that PAE induces NLRP3 sensitization by morphine following nerve injury in adult mice. METHODS We used an established moderate PAE paradigm, in which adult PAE and non-PAE control female mice were exposed to a minor sciatic nerve injury, and subsequent allodynia was measured using the von Frey fiber test. In control mice with standard sciatic damage or PAE mice with minor sciatic damage, the effects of the NLRP3 inhibitor, MCC950, were examined during chronic allodynia. Additionally, minor nerve-injured mice were treated with morphine, with or without MCC950. In vitro studies examined the TLR4-NLRP3-dependent proinflammatory response of peripheral macrophages to morphine and/or lipopolysaccharide, with or without MCC950. RESULTS Mice with standard sciatic damage or PAE mice with minor sciatic damage developed robust allodynia. Blocking NLRP3 activation fully reversed allodynia in both control and PAE mice. Morphine paradoxically prolonged allodynia in PAE mice, while control mice with minor nerve injury remained stably non-allodynic. Allodynia resolved sooner in nerve-injured PAE mice without morphine treatment than in morphine-treated mice. MCC950 treatment significantly shortened allodynia in morphine-treated PAE mice. Morphine potentiated IL-1β release from TLR4-activated PAE immune cells, while MCC950 treatment greatly reduced it. CONCLUSIONS In female mice, PAE prolongs allodynia following morphine treatment through NLRP3 activation. TLR4-activated PAE immune cells showed enhanced IL-1β release with morphine via NLRP3 actions. Similar studies are needed to examine the adverse impact of morphine in males with PAE. These results are predictive of adverse responses to opioid pain therapeutics in individuals with FASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahani Noor
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Melody S Sun
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Andrea A Pasmay
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Ariana N Pritha
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | | | - Monique V Nysus
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Diane C Jimenez
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Minerva Murphy
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Daniel D Savage
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - C Fernando Valenzuela
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Erin D Milligan
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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