@article{NowotnyCastroHugoetal.2018,
  author    = {Nowotny, Kerstin and Castro, Jose Pedro and Hugo, Martin and Braune, Sabine and Weber, Daniela and Pignitter, Marc and Somoza, Veronika and Bornhorst, Julia and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Grune, Tilman},
  title     = {Oxidants produced by methylglyoxal-modified collagen trigger ER stress and apoptosis in skin fibroblasts},
  series = {Free radical biology and medicine : the official journal of the Oxygen Society, a constituent member of the International Society for Free Radical Research},
  volume    = {120},
  journal   = {Free radical biology and medicine : the official journal of the Oxygen Society, a constituent member of the International Society for Free Radical Research},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {0891-5849},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.03.022},
  pages     = {102 -- 113},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Methylglyoxal (MG), a highly reactive dicarbonyl, interacts with proteins to form advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs include a variety of compounds which were shown to have damaging potential and to accumulate in the course of different conditions such as diabetes mellitus and aging. After confirming collagen as a main target for MG modifications in vivo within the extracellular matrix, we show here that MG-collagen disrupts fibroblast redox homeostasis and induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis. In particular, MG-collagen-induced apoptosis is associated with the activation of the PERK-eIF2 alpha pathway and caspase-12. MG-collagen contributes to altered redox homeostasis by directly generating hydrogen peroxide and oxygen-derived free radicals. The induction of ER stress in human fibroblasts was confirmed using collagen extracts isolated from old mice in which MG-derived AGEs were enriched. In conclusion, MG-derived AGEs represent one factor contributing to diminished fibroblast function during aging.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LohrenBlagojevicFitkauetal.2015,
  author    = {Lohren, Hanna and Blagojevic, Lara and Fitkau, Romy and Ebert, Franziska and Schildknecht, Stefan and Leist, Marcel and Schwerdtle, Tanja},
  title     = {Toxicity of organic and inorganic mercury species in human neurons and human astrocytes},
  series = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology},
  volume    = {32},
  journal   = {Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Jena},
  issn      = {0946-672X},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jtemb.2015.06.008},
  pages     = {200 -- 208},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Organic mercury (Hg) species exert their toxicity primarily in the central nervous system. The food relevant Hg species methylmercury (MeHg) has been frequently studied regarding its neurotoxic effects in vitro and in vivo. Neurotoxicity of thiomersal, which is used as a preservative in medical preparations, is to date less characterised. Due to dealkylation of organic Hg or oxidation of elemental Hg, inorganic Hg is present in the brain albeit these species are not able to readily cross the blood brain barrier. This study compared for the first time toxic effects of organic MeHg chloride (MeHgCl) and thiomersal as well as inorganic mercury chloride (HgCl2) in differentiated human neurons (LUHMES) and human astrocytes (CCF-STTG1). The three Hg species differ in their degree and mechanism of toxicity in those two types of brain cells. Generally, neurons are more susceptible to Hg species induced cytotoxicity as compared to astrocytes. This might be due to the massive cellular mercury uptake in the differentiated neurons. The organic compounds exerted stronger cytotoxic effects as compared to inorganic HgCl2. In contrast to HgCl2 exposure, organic Hg compounds seem to induce the apoptotic cascade in neurons following low-level exposure. No indicators for apoptosis were identified for both inorganic and organic mercury species in astrocytes. Our studies clearly demonstrate species-specific toxic mechanisms. A mixed exposure towards all Hg species in the brain can be assumed. Thus, prospectively coexposure studies as well as cocultures of neurons and astrocytes could provide additional information in the investigation of Hg induced neurotoxicity.},
  language  = {en}
}