Desorption of Some Toxic Heavy Metals from Human Erythrocytes in vitro

1965 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanspeter Witschi
2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Merkle

Abstract Pollution of soil and water with heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic, is a worldwide problem. Phytoremediation, the use of plants to remove, sequester or detoxify pollutants, including heavy metals, offers an environmentally-friendly alternative to engineering- based methods for remediation. Forest trees have multiple features that make them particularly useful for removal of toxic heavy metals, especially if they can be engineered with genes allowing them to handle high levels of these elements. Although still in its infancy, research with transgenic trees carrying genes allowing them to detoxify or sequester some heavy metals has already made promising progress. Most of the work to date has been performed using poplar species and hybrids, although other woody species could be equally as useful. Trees have been engineered with genes for the handling of mercury, cadmium, copper and arsenic following two main approaches, phytoextraction and phytotransformation/ phytovolatilizaton. In vitro studies have shown the transgenic trees to have enhanced abilities to tolerate and/or accumulate these metals, and preliminary results from field tests indicate that the trees are functioning. New combinations of genes involved in metal transport or conversion may further enhance the heavy metal remediation capabilities of the transgenic trees. Given the environmentally friendly application, forest trees engineered for phytoremediation may be some of the first transgenic forest trees approved for operational deployment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayodele J. Akinyemi ◽  
Ganiyu Oboh ◽  
Adedayo O. Ademiluyi

Abstract Evidence has shown that ingestion of heavy metals can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. This study aimed to investigate the neurotoxic potential of salt substitutes (Obu-Otoyo); salt A (made by burning palm kernel shaft then soaked in water overnight and the extract from the resulting residue is used as the salt substitute) and salt B (an unrefined salt mined from a local site at Ilobu town, Osun-State, Nigeria) by assessing their effect on some key enzymes linked with neurodegenerative disease [acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities] as well as on malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the rat brain. Salt substitutes were fed to normal rats as dietary inclusion at doses of 0.5 and 1.0% for 30 days. Thereafter, the effect of the salt substitutes on AChE and BChE activities as well as on MDA level in the rat brain was determined. The results revealed that the salt substitutes caused a significant (p<0.05) increase in both AChE and BChE activity and also induced lipid peroxidation in the brain of rats in vivo as well as under in vitro condition in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of the salt substitutes on AChE and BChE activities could be attributed to the presence of some toxic heavy metals. Therefore, the ability of the salt substitutes to induce lipid peroxidation and activate AChE and BChE activities could provide some possible mechanism for their neurotoxic effect.


1956 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanche Ann Borek ◽  
Max Bovarnick

1. Hemolyzed rabbit cells contain a factor which lyses human erythrocytes in vitro when Mg++ and certain nucleotides are supplied to the system. Of the nucleotides tested ATP is the most active, although no net loss of ATP or of labile phosphate seems to be associated with the hemolytic process. 2. The lytic factor appears to be a sulfhydryl enzyme which attacks the membrane of the human red cell, its hemolytic activity being inhibited by human stroma. 3. The system is activated by glutathione and is inhibited by heavy metals, oxidized glutathione, cysteine, ergothionine, and a number of metabolic inhibitors. Physostigmine has no effect. 4. Partial purification of the lytic factor has been achieved by fractional centrifugation.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Jinling Cui ◽  
Shutao Yin ◽  
Chong Zhao ◽  
Lihong Fan ◽  
Hongbo Hu

Food can be contaminated by various types of contaminants such as mycotoxins and toxic heavy metals. Therefore, it is very likely that simultaneous intake of more than one type of food contaminant by consumers may take place, which provides a strong rationale for investigating the combined toxicities of these food contaminants. Patulin is one of the most common food-borne mycotoxins, whereas cadmium is a representative of toxic heavy metals found in food. The liver and kidneys are the main target organ sites for both patulin and cadmium. We hypothesized that simultaneous exposure to patulin and cadmium could produce synergistic hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) and Human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 (HEK293) cell lines together with a mouse model were used to explore the combination effect and mechanism. The results demonstrated, for the first time, that the co-exposure of liver or renal cells to patulin and cadmium caused synergistic cytotoxicity in vitro and enhanced liver toxicity in vivo. The synergistic toxicity caused by the co-administration of patulin and cadmium was attributed to the boosted reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) and p53 as downstream mediators of oxidative stress contributed to the synergistic toxicity by co-exposure of patulin and cadmium, while p53/JNK1 activation promoted the second-round ROS production through a positive feedback loop. The findings of the present study extend the toxicological knowledge about patulin and cadmium, which could be beneficial to more precisely perform risk assessments on these food contaminants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Coakley ◽  
Gary Cahill ◽  
Anne-Marie Enright ◽  
Brian O’Rourke ◽  
Carloalberto Petti

The use of phytoremediation to sustainably recover areas contaminated by toxic heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) has been made feasible since the discovery of hyperaccumulator plants. This study examines the potential of the invasive Impatiens glandulifera for phytoremediation propensity of Cd. In these experiments, the plants were exposed to and tested for Cd accumulation; the propensity to accumulate other heavy metals, such as Zinc, was not investigated. The efficacy of phytoaccumulation was assessed over two trials (Cd concentrations of 20 mg/kg to 150 mg/kg) via examination of bioconcentration factor (BCF), translocation factor (TF), and total removal (TR). Exposure to Cd levels of up to 150 mg/kg in the trials did not affect the biomass of the plants compared to the control. Impatiens glandulifera accumulated cadmium at a rate of 276 to 1562 mg/kgin stems, with BCFs, TFs, and TRs of 64.6 to 236.4, 0.2 to 1.2, and 3.6 to 29.2 mg Cd, respectively. In vitro germination revealed unprecedented germination ability, demonstrating the remarkable hypertolerance of I. glandulifera, with no significant difference in the germination of seedlings exposed to 1000 mg/kg Cd compared to the control. This study also examined the localization of Cd in plant tissues via a histochemical assay using dithizone. The results presented herein suggest that I. glandulifera can act as a hyperaccumulator of Cd for phytoremediation.


1960 ◽  
Vol XXXIV (II) ◽  
pp. 305-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Woldring ◽  
A. Bakker ◽  
H. Doorenbos

ABSTRACT The red cell triiodothyronine uptake technique as used in our hospital is described. Incubation time is of almost no importance. The temperature during incubation should be 37° C. Further improvement of the technique is obtained when all blood samples are brought up to 40 % haematocrit prior to incubation. Clinical results are discussed. It is yet too early to give a definite assessment of its clinical value, but it is definitely superior to the measurement of the BMR.


Author(s):  
MdDidarul Islam, Ashiqur Rahaman, Aboni Afrose

This study was based on determining concentration of essential and toxic heavy metal in coconut water available at a local Hazaribagh area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. All essential minerals, if present in the drinking water at high concentration or very low concentration, it has negative actions. In this study, fifteen samples and eight heavy metals were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) method which was followed by wet ashing digestion method. The concentration obtained in mg/l were in the range of 0.3 to 1.5, 7.77 to 21.2, 0 to 0.71, 0 to 0.9, 0 to 0.2, 0.9 to 17.3, 0.1 to 0.9, 0 to 0.9 and 0 to 0.7 for Fe, Ni, Cu, Cd, Cr, Zn, Pb and Se respectively. From this data it was concluded that any toxic heavy metals like Cd, Cr, Pb and Ni exceed their toxicity level and some essential nutrients were in low concentration in those samples. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 264
Author(s):  
Md Didarul Islam ◽  
Ashiqur Rahaman ◽  
Fahmida Jannat

This study was based on to determine the concentration of macro and micro nutrients as well as toxic and nontoxic heavy metals present in the chicken feed available in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. All macro nutrients, if present in the feed at high concentration have some adverse effect, at the same time if this nutrient present in the feed at low concentration this have some adverse effect too. So that this nutrient level should be maintained at a marginal level. On the other side toxic heavy metals if present in the feed at very low concentration those can contaminate the total environment of the ecosystem. In this study six brand samples (starter, grower, finisher and layer) which was collected from different renowned chicken feed formulation industry in Bangladesh. Those samples were prepared for analysis by wet ashing and then metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. It was found that 27.7 to 68.4, 57.3 to 121.9, 0.21 to 4.1, 0.32 to 2.1, 0.11 to 1.58, 0.28 to 2.11 and 0.28 to 1.78 for zinc, iron, copper, mercury, cadmium, nickel and cobalt respectively. It was found that essential macro and micro nutrients were present in the feed in low concentration on the other side mercury was present in high concentration in the feed samples.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Ibrahim ◽  
Alaa Zaky ◽  
Mohsen Afouna ◽  
Ahmed Samy

Carrier erythrocytes are emerging as one of the most promising biological drug delivery systems investigated in recent decades. Beside its biocompatibility, biodegradability and ability to circulate throughout the body, it has the ability to perform extended release system of the drug for a long period. The ultimate goal of this study is to introduce a new carrier system for Salbutamol, maintaining suitable blood levels for a long time, as atrial to resolve the problems of nocturnal asthma medication Therefore in this work we study the effect of time, temperature as well as concentration on the loading of salbutamol in human erythrocytes to be used as systemic sustained release delivery system for this drug. After the loading process is performed the carrier erythrocytes were physically and cellulary characterized. Also, the in vitro release of salbutamol from carrier erythrocytes was studied over time interval. From the results it was found that, human erythrocytes have been successfully loaded with salbutamol using endocytosis method either at 25 Co or at 37 Co . The highest loaded amount was 3.5 mg/ml and 6.5 mg/ml respectively. Moreover, the percent of cells recovery is 90.7± 1.64%. Hematological parameters and osmotic fragility behavior of salbutamol loaded erythrocytes were similar that of native erythrocytes. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the salbutamol loaded cells has moderate change in the morphology. Salbutamol releasing from carrier cell was 43% after 36 hours in phosphate buffer saline. The releasing pattern of the drug from loaded erythrocytes showed initial burst release in the first hour followed by a very slow release, obeying zero order kinetics. It concluded that salbutamol is successfully entrapped into erythrocytes with acceptable loading parameters and moderate morphological changes, this suggesting that erythrocytes can be used as prolonged release carrier for salbutamol.


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