Project description:A convergence of technological breakthroughs in the past decade has facilitated the development of rapid screening tools for biomarkers of toxicant exposure and effect. Platforms using the whole adult organism to evaluate the genome-wide response to toxicants are especially attractive. Recent work demonstrates the feasibility of this approach in vertebrates using the experimentally robust zebrafish model. In the present study, we evaluated gene expression changes in whole adult zebrafish following an acute 24 hour exposure to three metals with known human health risks. Male adult zebrafish were exposed to nickel chloride, cobalt chloride, and sodium dichromate concentrations corresponding to their respective 96 hr LC20, LC40 and LC60. Histopathology was performed on a subset of metal-exposed zebrafish to phenotypically anchor transcriptional changes associated with each metal. Comparative analysis identified subsets of differentially expressed transcripts both overlapping and unique to each metal. Application of gene ontology (GO) and transcription factor enrichment algorithms revealed a number of key biological processes perturbed by metal exposures and the master transcriptional regulators mediating gene expression changes. Metal exposures differentially activated biological processes associated with ribosome biogenesis, proteosomal degradation and p53 signaling cascades, while repressing oxygen-generating pathways associated with amino acid and lipid metabolism. Despite appreciable effects on gene regulation, nickel exposures did not induce any morphological alterations in zebrafish organs and tissues. Histopathological effects of cobalt remained confined to the olfactory system, while chromium targeted the gills, pharynx and intestinal mucosa. A number of enriched transcription factors mediate the observed gene response to metal exposure, including known targets such as p53, HIF1M-oM-^AM-! and the myc oncogene and novel regulatory factors such as XBP1, GATA6 and HNF3M-oM-^AM-". This work uses an experimentally innovative approach to capture global responses to metal exposures and provides mechanistic insights into metal toxicity mechanisms. Metal induced changes in gene expression in zebrafish were measured after 24 h exposures to each of three metals (nickel, chromium or cobalt). A total of 48 arrays were processed - 16 arrays per metal with 4 replicates for each exposure condition (control, low, mid, and high).

Project description:Abstract — Within the US military, new insensitive munitions (IMs) are rapidly replacing conventional munitions improving safety from unintended detonation. Toxicity data for IM chemicals are expanding rapidly, however IM constituents are typically deployed in mixture formulations, and very little is known about their mixture toxicology. In the present study we sought to characterize the mixture effects and toxicology of the two predominant IM formulations IMX-101 and IMX-104 in acute (48 h) larval fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) exposures. IMX-101 consists of a mixture of 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), and nitroguanidine (NQ) while IMX-104 is composed of DNAN, NTO, and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX). DNAN was the most potent constituent in IMX-101 eliciting an LC50 of 36.1 mg/L, whereas NTO and NQ did not elicit significant mortality in exposures up to 1040 and 2640 mg/L, respectively. Toxic unit calculations indicated that IMX-101 elicited toxicity representative of the component concentration of DNAN within the mixture. Toxicogenomic responses for the individual constituents of IMX-101 indicated unique transcriptional expression and functional responses characteristic of: oxidative stress, impaired energy metabolism, tissue damage and inflammatory responses in DNAN exposures; impaired steroid biosynthesis and developmental cell-signaling in NQ exposures; and altered mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in NTO exposures. Transcriptional responses to the IMX-101 mixture were driven by the effects of DNAN where expression and functional responses were nearly identical comparing DNAN alone versus the fractional equivalent of DNAN within IMX-101. Given that each individual constituent of the IMX-101 mixture elicited unique functional responses, and NTO and NQ did not interact with DNAN within the IMX-101 mixture exposure, the overall toxicity and toxicogenomic responses within acute exposures to the IMX-101 formulation are indicative of "independent" mixture toxicology. Alternatively, in the IMX-104 exposure both DNAN and RDX were each present at concentrations sufficient to elicit lethality (RDX LC50 = 28.9 mg/L). Toxic-unit calculations for IMX-104 mixture formulation exposures indicated slight synergistic toxicity (ΣTU LC50 = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.73-0.90). Unique functional responses relative to DNAN were observed in the IMX-104 exposure including responses characteristic of RDX exposure. Based on previous transcriptomics responses to acute RDX exposures in fathead minnow larvae, we hypothesize that the potentially synergistic responses within the IMX-104 mixture are related to interactive effects of each DNAN and RDX on oxidative stress mitigation pathways.

Dataset Information

Exposure to Cobalt Causes Transcriptomic and Proteomic Changes in Two Rat Liver Derived Cell Lines

Publications

Exposure to cobalt causes transcriptomic and proteomic changes in two rat liver derived cell lines.

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