Project description:<p>Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin, and the fetal period is the most vulnerable exposure period. There is significant variability in methylmercury metabolism, which has been attributed to differences in the structure and function of the gut microbiome. Our main objective was to better understand the interplay between gut microorganisms and methylmercury metabolism during pregnancy. To address this aim, associations were investigated between maternal biomarkers (blood, hair, stool) for prenatal methylmercury exposure and maternal gut microbiota during early and late gestation.</p>
Project description:To characterize the human plasma microtranscriptome profile at first trimester of pregnancy in presence or not of pregnancy complications, we sequenced microRNAs in plasma samples collected from pregnant women between the 4th and the 16th weeks of pregnancy. We then performed differential expression analyses to assess the miRNA profile diffrences according to the presence of pregnancy complications or not (i.e. Gestational diabetes mellitus, Gestational hypertension or preeclampsia vs. normal pregnancies).
Project description:This study aims at investigating the effects of methylmercury on a microalga using a transcriptomic approach. Algal cells were exposed two hours in a simplified artificial medium spiked with 0.05 or 0.5 nM MeHg. Total RNA was extracted using TRI Reagent®. Libraries were prepared with the Illumina TruSeq Stranded mRNA kit and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 System.
Project description:Methylmercury is known as the causative agent of Minamata disease. To investigate the mechanisms of neurotoxicity in the dorsal root ganglion, male Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were administered methylmercury (6.7 mg/kg/day) for five consecutive days followed by two days without treatment, repeated over a two-week period. Dorsal root ganglia were collected from the control group, as well as on days 7 and 14 after the start of administration. Total RNA was extracted and subjected to DNA microarray analysis. In the day-7 samples, marked alterations in gene groups involved in inflammatory responses were observed, while in the day-14 samples, in addition to these changes, alterations in approximately 15,000 gene groups were detected.
Project description:Methylmercury is a bioaccumulated environmental neurotoxicant, however, it remains largely unknown regarding impacts of non-apoptotic low dose methylmercury on embryonic cerebral cortex development. Here, using single cell RNA-seq analysis we show that prenatal exposure of MeHg favors RGP developmental trajectory towards directly producing cortical neurons, omitting intermediate progenitor stage. Our findings reveal the outcomes of low dose MeHg exposure on the fetal brain development and provide insights into its underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic strategy.