Institut für Ecopreneurship

Dauerhafte URI für die Sammlunghttps://irf.fhnw.ch/handle/11654/26

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Ergebnisse nach Hochschule und Institut

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  • Publikation
    Cytotoxicity and molecular effects of biocidal disinfectants (quaternary ammonia, glutaraldehyde, poly(hexamethylene biguanide) hydrochloride PHMB) and their mixtures in vitro and in zebrafish eleuthero-embryos
    (Elsevier, 2017) Christen, Verena; Faltermann, Susanne; Fent, Karl; Brun, Nadja
    Frequently used biocidal disinfectants, including quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), glutaraldehyde and poly(hexamethylene biguanide) hydrochloride (PHMB), occur in the aquatic environment but their potential effects in fish are poorly known, in particular when occurring as mixtures. To investigate their joint activity, we assessed the cytotoxicity of three QACs (BAC, barquat and benzalkonium chloride), glutaraldehyde andPHMB by the MTT assay individually, followed by assessing binary and ternary mixtures in zebrafish liver cells (ZFL) and human liver cells (Huh7). We also analysed molecular effects by quantitative PCR in vitro and in zebrafish eleuthero-embryos employing a targeted gene expression approach. QACs displayed strong cytotoxicity in both cell lines with EC50 values in the low μg/ml range, while glutaraldehyde and PHMB were less cytotoxic. Most of the binary and both ternary mixtures showed synergistic activity at all equi-effective concentrations. A mixture containing all five compounds mixed at their no observed effect concentrations showed strong cytotoxicity, suggesting a synergistic interaction. Additionally, we determined transcriptional alterations of target genes related to endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) stress, general stress, inflammatory action and apoptosis. Induction of ER stress genes occurred at non-cytotoxic concentrations of barquat, glutaraldehyde and BAC in ZFL cells. Barquat and BAC induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnf-α). Similar transcriptional alterations were found in vivo upon exposure of zebrafish eleuthero-embryos for 120 h. Glutaraldehyde led to induction of ER stress genes and tnf-α, while BAC additionally induced genes indicative of apoptosis, which was also the case with benzalkonium chloride at the highest concentration. We demonstrated strong cytotoxicity of QACs, and synergistic activity of binary, ternary and quintuple mixtures. Barquat and BAC let to induction of ER stress and inflammation in vitro, and BAC and glutaraldehyde at non-toxic concentrations in vivo, while benzalkonium chloride induced expression of tnf-α only.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Activity of binary mixtures of drospirenone with progesterone and 17?-ethinylestradiol in vitro and in vivo
    (Elsevier, 22.02.2016) Rossier, Nadine Madeleine; Chew, Geraldine; Zhang, Kun; Riva, Francesco; Fent, Karl
    Despite potential exposure of aquatic organisms to mixtures of steroid hormones, very little is known on their joint activity in fish. Drospirenone (DRS) is a new synthetic progestin used in contraceptive pills in combination with 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). Here we systematically analyzed effects of DRS in binary mixtures with progesterone (P4) and EE2. First, we determined the in vitro activity of single compounds in recombinant yeast assays that express the human progesterone, androgen, or estrogen receptor, followed by determination of mixture activities of DRS and P4, DRS and EE2, as well as medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and dydrogesterone (DDG). Mixtures of DRS and P4, as well as of DRS and EE2 showed additive progestogenic and androgenic activities. However, DDG and MPA showed non-additive progestogenic and androgenic activities. We then analyzed the in vivo activity of single compounds and mixtures of DRS and P4, as well as DRS and EE2, by assessing transcriptional changes of up to 14 selected target genes in zebrafish embryos at 48h post fertilization (hpf), and in eleuthero-embryos at 96hpf and 144hpf. DRS, P4, and EE2 led to significant transcriptional alteration of genes, including those encoding hormone receptors (pgr, esr1), a steroidogenic enzyme (hsd17b3), and estrogenic markers (vtg1, cyp19b), in particular at 144 hpf. In general, DRS showed stronger transcriptional changes than P4. In mixtures of DRS and P4, they were mainly non-additive (antagonistic interaction). In mixtures of DRS and EE2, transcriptional responses of esr1, vtg1 and cyp19b were dominated by EE2, suggesting an antagonistic interaction or independent action. Equi-effective mixtures of DRS and EE2, based on progesterone receptor transcripts, showed antagonistic interactions. Our data suggest that interactions in mixtures assessed in vitro in recombinant yeast cannot be translated to the in vivo situation. The receptor-based responses did not correspond well to the transcriptional responses in embryos which are much more complex due to the interplay between hormonal pathways, receptor crosstalk, and hormonal feedback loops.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Binary mixtures of neonicotinoids show different transcriptional changes than single neonicotinoids in honeybees (Apis mellifera)
    (Elsevier, 11.11.2016) Christen, Verena; Bachofer, Sara; Fent, Karl;
    Among the many factors responsible for the decline of bee populations are plant protection products such as neonicotinoids. In general, bees are exposed to not only one but mixtures of such chemicals. At environmental realistic concentrations neonicotinoids may display negative effects on the immune system, foraging activity, learning and memory formation of bees. Neonicotinoids induce alterations of gene transcripts such as nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits, vitellogenin, genes of the immune system and genes linked to memory formation. While previous studies focused on individual compounds, the effect of neonicotinoid mixtures in bees is poorly known. Here we investigated the effects of neonicotinoids acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam as single compounds, and binary mixtures thereof in honeybees. We determined transcriptional changes of nAChR subunits and vitellogenin in the brain of experimentally exposed honeybees after exposure up to 72 h. Exposure concentrations were selected on the basis of lowest effect concentrations of the single compounds. Transcriptional induction of nAChRs and vitellogenin was strongest for thiamethoxam, and weakest for acetamiprid. To a large extent, binary mixtures did not show additive transcriptional inductions but they were less than additive. Our data suggest that the joint transcriptional activity of neonicotinoids cannot be explained by concentration addition. The in vivo effects are not only governed by agonistic interaction with nAChRs alone, but are more complex as a result of interactions with other pathways as well. Further studies are needed to investigate the physiological joint effects of mixtures of neonicotinoids and other plant protection products on bees to better understand their joint effects.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift