@article{BasaranDuyduUstundagetal.2019, author = {Basaran, Nursen and Duydu, Yalcin and Ustundag, Aylin and Taner, Gokce and Aydin, Sevtap and Anlar, Hatice Gul and Yalcin, Can {\"O}zg{\"u}r and Bacanli, Merve and Aydos, Kaan and Atabekoglu, Cem Somer and Golka, Klaus and Ickstadt, Katja and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Werner, Matthias and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Bolt, Hermann M.}, title = {Evaluation of the DNA damage in lymphocytes, sperm and buccal cells of workers under environmental and occupational boron exposure conditions}, series = {Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis}, volume = {843}, journal = {Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1383-5718}, doi = {10.1016/j.mrgentox.2018.12.013}, pages = {33 -- 39}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Industrial production and use of boron compounds have increased during the last decades, especially for the manufacture of borosilicate glass, fiberglass, metal alloys and flame retardants. This study was conducted in two districts of Balikesir; Bandirma and Bigadic, which geographically belong to the Marmara Region of Turkey. Bandirma is the production and exportation zone for the produced boric acid and some borates and Bigadic has the largest B deposits in Turkey. 102 male workers who were occupationally exposed to boron from Bandirma and 110 workers who were occupationally and environmentally exposed to boron from Bigadic participated to our study. In this study the DNA damage in the sperm, blood and buccal cells of 212 males was evaluated by comet and micronucleus assays. No significant increase in the DNA damage in blood, sperm and buccal cells was observed in the residents exposed to boron both occupationally and environmentally (p = 0.861) for Comet test in the sperm samples, p = 0.116 for Comet test in the lymphocyte samples, p = 0.042 for micronucleus (MN) test, p = 0.955 for binucleated cells (BN), p = 1.486 for condensed chromatin (CC), p = 0.455 for karyorrhectic cells (KHC), p = 0.541 for karyolitic cells (KLY), p = 1.057 for pyknotic cells (PHC), p = 0.331 for nuclear bud (NBUD)). No correlations were seen between blood boron levels and tail intensity values of the sperm samples, lymphocyte samples, frequencies of MN, BN, KHC, KYL, PHC and NBUD. The results of this study came to the same conclusions of the previous studies that boron does not induce DNA damage even under extreme exposure conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{BornhorstEbertMeyeretal.2020, author = {Bornhorst, Julia and Ebert, Franziska and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Ziemann, Vanessa and Xiong, Chan and Guttenberger, Nikolaus and Raab, Andrea and Baesler, Jessica and Aschner, Michael and Feldmann, J{\"o}rg and Francesconi, Kevin and Raber, Georg and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {Toxicity of three types of arsenolipids}, series = {Metallomics}, volume = {12}, journal = {Metallomics}, number = {5}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1756-591X}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1039/d0mt00039f}, pages = {794 -- 798}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Although fish and seafood are well known for their nutritional benefits, they contain contaminants that might affect human health. Organic lipid-soluble arsenic species, so called arsenolipids, belong to the emerging contaminants in these food items; their toxicity has yet to be systematically studied. Here, we apply the in vivo model Caenorhabditis elegans to assess the effects of two arsenic-containing hydrocarbons (AsHC), a saturated arsenic-containing fatty acid (AsFA), and an arsenic-containing triacylglyceride (AsTAG) in a whole organism. Although all arsenolipids were highly bioavailable in Caenorhabditis elegans, only the AsHCs were substantially metabolized to thioxylated or shortened metabolic products and induced significant toxicity, affecting both survival and development. Furthermore, the AsHCs were several fold more potent as compared to the toxic reference arsenite. This study clearly indicates the need for a full hazard identification of subclasses of arsenolipids to assess whether they pose a risk to human health.}, language = {en} } @article{DuyduBasaranAydinetal.2018, author = {Duydu, Yalcin and Basaran, Nursen and Aydin, Sevtap and Ustundag, Aylin and Yalcin, Can {\"O}zg{\"u}r and Anlar, Hatice Gul and Bacanli, Merve and Aydos, Kaan and Atabekoglu, Cem Somer and Golka, Klaus and Ickstadt, Katja and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Werner, Matthias and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Bolt, Hermann M.}, title = {Evaluation of FSH, LH, testosterone levels and semen parameters in male boron workers under extreme exposure conditions}, series = {Archives of toxicology : official journal of EUROTOX}, volume = {92}, journal = {Archives of toxicology : official journal of EUROTOX}, number = {10}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {0340-5761}, doi = {10.1007/s00204-018-2296-7}, pages = {3051 -- 3059}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Boric acid and sodium borates are currently classified in the EU-CLP regulation as "toxic to reproduction" under "Category 1B", with hazard statement of H360FD. However, so far field studies on male reproduction in China and in Turkey could not confirm such boron-associated toxic effects. As validation by another independent study is still required, the present study has investigated possible boron-associated effects on male reproduction in workers (n = 212) under different boron exposure conditions. The mean daily boron exposure (DBE) and blood boron concentration of workers in the extreme exposure group (n = 98) were 47.17 +/- 17.47 (7.95-106.8) mg B/day and 570.6 +/- 160.1 (402.6-1100) ng B/g blood, respectively. Nevertheless, boron-associated adverse effects on semen parameters, as well as on FSH, LH and total testosterone levels were not seen, even within the extreme exposure group. With this study, a total body of evidence has accumulated that allows to conclude that male reproductive effects are not relevant to humans, under any feasible and realistic conditions of exposure to inorganic boron compounds.}, language = {en} } @article{DuyduBasaranUstundagetal.2018, author = {Duydu, Yalcin and Basaran, Nursen and Ustundag, Aylin and Aydin, Sevtap and Yalcin, Can Ozgur and Anlar, Hatice Gul and Bacanli, Merve and Aydos, Kaan and Atabekoglu, Cem Somer and Golka, Klaus and Ickstadt, Katja and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Werner, Matthias and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Bolt, Hermann M.}, title = {Birth weights of newborns and pregnancy outcomes of environmentally boron-exposed females in Turkey}, series = {Archives of toxicology : official journal of EUROTOX}, volume = {92}, journal = {Archives of toxicology : official journal of EUROTOX}, number = {8}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {0340-5761}, doi = {10.1007/s00204-018-2238-4}, pages = {2475 -- 2485}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Boric acid and sodium borates are currently classified as being toxic to reproduction under "Category 1B" with the hazard statement of "H360 FD" in the European CLP regulation. This has prompted studies on boron-mediated reprotoxic effects in male workers in boron mining areas and boric acid production plants. By contrast, studies on boron-mediated developmental effects in females are scarce. The present study was designed to fill this gap. Hundred and ninety nine females residing in Bandirma and Bigadic participated in this study investigating pregnancy outcomes. The participants constituted a study group covering blood boron from low (< 100 ng B/g blood, n = 143) to high (> 150 ng B/g blood, n = 27) concentrations. The mean blood boron concentration and the mean estimated daily boron exposure of the high exposure group was 274.58 (151.81-975.66) ng B/g blood and 24.67 (10.47-57.86) mg B/day, respectively. In spite of the high level of daily boron exposure, boron-mediated adverse effects on induced abortion, spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), stillbirth, infant death, neonatal death, early neonatal death, preterm birth, congenital anomalies, sex ratio and birth weight of newborns were not observed.}, language = {en} } @article{DuenkelbergMaywaldSchmittetal.2020, author = {D{\"u}nkelberg, Sophie and Maywald, Martina and Schmitt, Anne Kristina and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Rink, Lothar}, title = {The interaction of sodium and zinc in the priming of T cell subpopulations regarding Th17 and Treg cells}, series = {Molecular nutrition \& food research : bioactivity, chemistry, immunology, microbiology, safety, technology}, volume = {64}, journal = {Molecular nutrition \& food research : bioactivity, chemistry, immunology, microbiology, safety, technology}, number = {2}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1613-4133}, doi = {10.1002/mnfr.201900245}, pages = {10}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Scope: Nutrition is a critical determinant of a functional immune system. The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which immune cells are influenced by zinc and sodium. Methods and Results: Mixed lymphocyte cultures and Jurkat cells are generated and incubated with zinc, sodium, or a combination of both for further tests. Zinc induces the number of regulatory T cells (Treg) and decreases T helper 17 cells (Th17), and sodium has the opposite effect. The transforming growth factor beta receptor signaling pathway is also enhanced by zinc and reduced by sodium as indicated by contrary phosphoSmad 2/3 induction. Antagonistic effects can also be seen on zinc transporter and metallothionein-1 (MT-1) mRNA expression: zinc declines Zip10 mRNA expression while sodium induces it, whereas MT-1 mRNA expression is induced by zinc while it is reduced by sodium. Conclusion: This data indicate that zinc and sodium display opposite effects regarding Treg and Th17 induction in MLC, respectively, resulting in a contrary effect on the immune system. Additionally, it reveals a direct interaction of zinc and sodium in the priming of T cell subpopulations and shows that Zip10 and MT-1 play a significant role in those differentiation pathways.}, language = {en} } @article{EbertMeyerLeffersetal.2016, author = {Ebert, Franziska and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Leffers, Larissa and Raber, Georg and Francesconi, Kevin A. and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {Toxicological characterisation of a thio-arsenosugar-glycerol in human cells}, series = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology}, volume = {38}, journal = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology}, publisher = {Springer Publishing Company}, address = {Jena}, issn = {0946-672X}, doi = {10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.04.013}, pages = {150 -- 156}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Arsenosugars are water-soluble arsenic species predominant in marine algae and other seafood including mussels and oysters. They typically occur at levels ranging from 2 to 50 mg arsenic/kg dry weight. Most of the arsenosugars contain arsenic as a dimethylarsinoyl group (Me2As(O)-), commonly referred to as the oxo forms, but thio analogues have also been identified in marine organisms and as metabolic products of oxo-arsenosugars. So far, no data regarding toxicity and toxicokinetics of thio-arsenosugars are available. This in vitro-based study indicates that thio-dimethylarsenosugar-glycerol exerts neither pronounced cytotoxicity nor genotoxicity even though this arsenical was bioavailable to human hepatic (HepG2) and urothelial (UROtsa) cells. Experiments with the Caco-2 intestinal barrier model mimicking human absorption indicate for the thio-arsenosugar-glycerol higher intestinal bioavailability as compared to the oxo-arsenosugars. Nevertheless, absorption estimates were much lower in comparison to other arsenicals including arsenite and arsenic-containing hydrocarbons. Arsenic speciation in cell lysates revealed that HepG2 cells are able to metabolise the thio-arsenosugar-glycerol to some extent to dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). These first in vitro data cannot fully exclude risks to human health related to the presence of thio-arsenosugars in food. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{EbertThomannWittetal.2016, author = {Ebert, Franziska and Thomann, Marlies and Witt, Barbara and M{\"u}ller, Sandra Marie and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Weber, Till and Christmann, Markus and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {Evaluating long-term cellular effects of the arsenic species thio-DMA(V): qPCR-based gene expression as screening tool}, series = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology}, volume = {37}, journal = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology}, publisher = {Yokohama Publishers}, address = {Jena}, issn = {0946-672X}, doi = {10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.06.004}, pages = {78 -- 84}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Thio-dimethylarsinic acid (thio-DMA(V)) is a human urinary metabolite of the class 1 human carcinogen inorganic arsenic as well as of arsenosugars. Thio-DMA(V) exerts strong cellular toxicity, whereas its toxic modes of action are not fully understood. For the first time, this study characterises the impact of a long-term (21 days) in vitro incubation of thio-DMA(V) on the expression of selected genes related to cell death, stress response, epigenetics and DNA repair. The observed upregulation of DNMT1 might be a cellular compensation to counterregulate the in a very recent study observed massive global DNA hypomethylation after chronic thio-DMAv incubation. Moreover, our data suggest that chronic exposure towards subcytotoxic, pico- to nanomolar concentrations of thio-DMA(V) causes a stress response in human urothelial cells. The upregulation of genes encoding for proteins of DNA repair (Apex1,Lig1, XRCC1,DDB2, XPG, ATR) as well as damage response (GADD45A, GADD45G, Trp53) indicate a potential genotoxic risk emanating from thio-DMA(V) after long-term incubation. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{KoehlerLutherMeyeretal.2014, author = {K{\"o}hler, Yvonne and Luther, Eva Maria and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Dringen, Ralf}, title = {Uptake and toxicity of arsenite and arsenate in cultured brain astrocytes}, series = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology}, volume = {28}, journal = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology}, number = {3}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {0946-672X}, doi = {10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.04.007}, pages = {328 -- 337}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Inorganic arsenicals are environmental toxins that have been connected with neuropathies and impaired cognitive functions. To investigate whether such substances accumulate in brain astrocytes and affect their viability and glutathione metabolism, we have exposed cultured primary astrocytes to arsenite or arsenate. Both arsenicals compromised the cell viability of astrocytes in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. However, the early onset of cell toxicity in arsenite-treated astrocytes revealed the higher toxic potential of arsenite compared with arsenate. The concentrations of arsenite and arsenate that caused within 24 h half-maximal release of the cytosolic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase were around 0.3 mM and 10 mM, respectively. The cellular arsenic contents of astrocytes increased rapidly upon exposure to arsenite or arsenate and reached after 4 h of incubation almost constant steady state levels. These levels were about 3-times higher in astrocytes that had been exposed to a given concentration of arsenite compared with the respective arsenate condition. Analysis of the intracellular arsenic species revealed that almost exclusively arsenite was present in viable astrocytes that had been exposed to either arsenate or arsenite. The emerging toxicity of arsenite 4 h after exposure was accompanied by a loss in cellular total glutathione and by an increase in the cellular glutathione disulfide content. These data suggest that the high arsenite content of astrocytes that had been exposed to inorganic arsenicals causes an increase in the ratio of glutathione disulfide to glutathione which contributes to the toxic potential of these substances.}, language = {en} } @article{MayerUciechowskiMeyeretal.2014, author = {Mayer, Lena S. and Uciechowski, Peter and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Rink, Lothar and Haase, Hajo}, title = {Differential impact of zinc deficiency on phagocytosis, oxidative burst, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by human monocytes}, series = {Metallomics : integrated biometal science}, volume = {6}, journal = {Metallomics : integrated biometal science}, number = {7}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1756-5901}, doi = {10.1039/c4mt00051j}, pages = {1288 -- 1295}, year = {2014}, language = {en} } @misc{MayerUciechowskiMeyeretal.2014, author = {Mayer, Lena S. and Uciechowski, Peter and Meyer, S{\"o}ren and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Rink, Lothar and Haase, Hajo}, title = {Differential impact of zinc deficiency on phagocytosis, oxidative burst, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by human monocytes}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-99405}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Zinc deficiency has a fundamental influence on the immune defense, with multiple effects on different immune cells, resulting in a major impairment of human health. Monocytes and macrophages are among the immune cells that are most fundamentally affected by zinc, but the impact of zinc on these cells is still far from being completely understood. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of zinc deficiency on monocytes of healthy human donors. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which include monocytes, were cultured under zinc deficient conditions for 3 days. This was achieved by two different methods: by application of the membrane permeable chelator N,N,N0´,N0´-tetrakis-(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN) or by removal of zinc from the culture medium using a CHELEX 100 resin. Subsequently, monocyte functions were analyzed in response to Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Zinc depletion had differential effects. On the one hand, elimination of bacterial pathogens by phagocytosis and oxidative burst was elevated. On the other hand, the production of the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interleukin (IL)-6 was reduced. This suggests that monocytes shift from intercellular communication to basic innate defensive functions in response to zinc deficiency. These results were obtained regardless of the method by which zinc deficiency was achieved. However, CHELEX-treated medium strongly augmented cytokine production, independently from its capability for zinc removal. This side-effect severely limits the use of CHELEX for investigating the effects of zinc deficiency on innate immunity.}, language = {en} }