Simultaneous exposure to vinylcyclohexene and methylmercury in Drosophila melanogaster: biochemical and molecular analyses

Abstract

BackgroundExposure to vinylcyclohexene (VCH) and methylmercury (MeHg+) can induce oxidative stress and gene modulation. Several studies have been evaluating the effects of VCH and MeHg+, but little is known about interactive effects between them. This work aimed to assess the exposure and co-exposure effects of MeHg+ and VCH on oxidative stress and gene modulation in Drosophila melanogaster.MethodsReactive species production, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities were evaluated after exposure and co-exposure to VCH (1 mM) and MeHg+ (0.2 mM) for one or three days in the head and body (thorax and abdomen) of flies. The expression of genes related to redox state and inflammatory response was evaluated after exposure and co-exposure to VCH and MeHg+ for three days.ResultsSurvival decreased only in flies co-exposed to VCH and MeHg+ for three days. All treatments increased total reactive species production after one day of exposure. However, no significant changes were observed in the head after three days of exposure. One day of exposure to VCH caused an increase in the head GST activity, whereas MeHg+ induced an increase after three days of exposure. Regarding the body, all treatments increased GST activity after one day of exposure, but only the flies exposed to MeHg+ presented an increase in GST activity after three days of exposure. Treatments did not alter AChE activity in the head. As for gene expression, there was a significant increase in the Relish transcription factor gene in the flies’ body, but Nrf2, Keap1, Jafrac1, TrxR1, and NF-κβ were not altered.ConclusionThe results suggest that exposure to VCH and MeHg+ induce oxidative stress and activation of an inflammatory response in fruit flies.

Evaluation of the Pumpkin Seed Membrane as a Nutrient in the Fruit Fly Model, Fed With High Fat Diet

“…Using 10 mg of plants such as Mangifera indica causes GST activity to decline in Drosophila(Etuh et al, 2019). It can cause an increase or decrease in GST activity depending on the experimental model and the texture analyzed(Piccoli et al, 2019). In this study was found that while resistance decreased with the use of oil and PSM in the larval stage, GST activity decreased because of nutrition with HFD + PSM despite the formation of resistant individuals at the pupal stage.…”

“…ambrosioides L. plant extracts can negatively affect Drosophila development and resistance(Wohlenberg and Lopes-da Silva, 2009). Which is more common in older and resistant individuals GST is a detoxifying enzyme and resistance enzyme(Piccoli et al, 2019). Using 10 mg of plants such as Mangifera indica causes GST activity to decline in Drosophila(Etuh et al, 2019).…”

Silymarin Inhibits In Vitro SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vero E6 Cells

“…Drosophila has been used to study the toxicity of xenobiotics 18 . Daily exposure of DM to the graded concentration up to 2000% human adult dose of silymarin had no adverse effects during the treatment period (Figure 1), suggesting that silymarin has wide safety and therapeutic index.…”

Toxicological evaluation of zidovudine and novel chalcogen derivatives in Drosophila melanogaster

“…The sample was prepared as previously described. [ 17 ] After the treatment, 20 flies were cryoanesthetized, and their heads were separated from the body. Heads and body were homogenized with 200 µL of 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer (TFK) pH 7.5 and centrifuged at 13.000 rpm for 10 min at 4°C.…”