Flusilazole Induced Cytotoxicity and Inhibition of Neuronal Growth in Differentiated SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells by All-Trans-Retinoic Acid (Atra)

Exploring pesticide risk in autism via integrative machine learning and network toxicology

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, including pesticide exposure. This study aims to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of ASD and identify potential causative pesticides by integrating bioinformatics, machine learning, network toxicology, and molecular docking approaches. A total of 156 differentially expressed genes (128 upregulated and 28 downregulated) were identified from ASD-related transcriptomic datasets. Using the LASSO algorithm, 23 key targets were initially selected. Each combination of 1-23 targets was used to construct predictive models using eight different machine learning algorithms. The Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) model demonstrated the best predictive performance for 20 features, which were defined as hub targets. These targets were subsequently used in a network toxicology framework to screen for associated environmental toxicants. Three pesticide candidates-epoxiconazole, flusilazole, and DEET-were identified as strongly interacting with these core targets. Molecular docking analysis further validated stable binding affinities between these pesticides and the hub targets. Functional enrichment analysis revealed significant involvement of glycosylation-related pathways, including mucin-type O-glycan biosynthesis, implicating potential mechanisms in ASD pathogenesis. Collectively, our findings highlight novel biomolecular links between pesticide exposure and ASD risk, and propose a set of candidate biomarkers and toxicants for further experimental validation and regulatory consideration.

Linking pesticide exposure to neurodegenerative diseases: An in vitro investigation with human neuroblastoma cells

Although many organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been banned or restricted because of their persistence and linkage to neurodegenerative diseases, there is evidence of continued human exposure. In contrast, registered herbicides are reported to have a moderate to low level of toxicity; however, there is little information regarding their toxicity to humans or their combined effects with OCPs. This study aimed to characterize the mechanism of toxicity of banned OCP insecticides (aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, and lindane) and registered herbicides (trifluralin, triallate, and clopyralid) detected at a legacy contaminated pesticide manufacturing and packing site using SH-SY5Y cells. Cell viability, LDH release, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and caspase 3/7 activity were evaluated following 24 h of exposure to the biocides. In addition, RNASeq was conducted at sublethal concentrations to investigate potential mechanisms involved in cellular toxicity. Our findings suggested that aldrin and heptachlor were the most toxic, while dieldrin, lindane, trifluralin, and triallate exhibited moderate toxicity, and clopyralid was not toxic to SH-SY5Y cells. While aldrin and heptachlor induced their toxicity through damage to the cell membrane, the toxicity of dieldrin was partially attributed to necrosis and apoptosis. Moreover, toxic effects of lindane, trifluralin, and triallate, at least partially, were associated with ROS generation. Gene expression profiles suggested that decreased cell viability induced by most of the tested biocides was related to inhibited cell proliferation. The dysregulation of genes encoding for proteins with anti-apoptotic properties also supported the absence of caspase activation. Identified enriched terms showed that OCP toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells was mediated through pathways associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. In conclusion, this study provides a basis for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of pesticide-induced neurotoxicity. Moreover, it introduced SH-SY5Y cells as a relevant in vitro model for investigating the neurotoxicity of pesticides in humans.

Fermented Mentha arvensis administration provides neuroprotection against transient global cerebral ischemia in gerbils and SH-SY5Y cells via downregulation of the MAPK signaling pathway

Background

Globally, ischemic stroke is a major health threat to humans that causes lifelong disability and death. Mentha arvensis (MA) has been used in traditional medicine to alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation-related disorders. In the present study, the neuroprotective properties of fermented MA (FMA) extract were investigated in the gerbil and SH-SY5Y cells. model of transient global cerebral ischemia.

Methods

Bilateral common carotid artery occlusion-induced transient global cerebral ischemia in gerbil and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-mediated neurotoxic effects in human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) were investigated. FMA (400 mg/kg) was orally administered for 7 days before induction of ischemic stroke. To evaluate the neuroprotective activity of FMA, we implemented various assays such as cell viability assay (MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, histopathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), histofluorescence, and western blot.

Results

FMA pretreatment effectively decreased transient ischemia (TI) induced neuronal cell death as well as activation of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampal region. The protective effects of FMA extract against H₂O₂-induced cytotoxicity of SH-SY5Y cells were observed by MTT and LDH assay. However, FMA pretreatment significantly increased the expression of the antioxidant marker proteins such as superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) and superoxide dismutase-2 (SOD-2) in the hippocampus and SH-SY5Y cells. Furthermore, the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) further activated a cascade of outcomes such as neuroinflammation and apoptosis. FMA pretreatment notably decreased TI and H₂O₂ induced activation of MAPK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), and p38) proteins in hippocampus and SH-SY5Y cells respectively. Besides, pretreatment with FMA markedly reduced H₂O₂ mediated Bax/Bcl2 expression in SH-SY5Y cells.

Conclusion

Thus, these results demonstrated that neuroprotective activities of FMA might contribute to regulating the MAPK signaling pathway.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12906-022-03653-7.

Flusilazole-induced damage to SerW3 cells via cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and lipid metabolism: An in vitro study

Flusilazole (C₁₆H₁₅F₂N₃Si) is a triazole fungicide and it is being used widely in recent years to control fungal infections in various fruits and vegetables. This study aims to evaluate the impact of flusilazole on cytotoxicity, ATP-dependent cassette transporter proteins (ABC transporter proteins) in SerW3 cells. In this study, SerW3 cells have administrated with 25, 100, and 200 μM flusilazole, cell viability was performed. The quantity of the cellular lipids was evaluated spectrophotometrically. Moreover, the expression of the ABCA1 and ABCB1 proteins determined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Furtherly, evaluation of the cell death type and measurement of the activity of the antioxidant enzymes was performed. According to the results, flusilazole treatment gave rise to inhibition in cell viability, increase in apoptotic cell number, reduction in cellular lipids, and inhibition in the expression of ABCA1 and ABCB1 proteins. Furthermore, it caused decreases in antioxidant enzyme activities. It may be concluded that flusilazole administration may cause infertility/subfertility. The mechanism of action can be due to cytotoxicity, impairment of the detoxification mechanisms, lipid metabolism, and dysregulation of cell functions.