Effect of lead exposure on the accumulation of copper and iron in central nervous system of rats / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To investigate the dynamic changes of copper and iron contents in brain tissue, body fluids and barriers of rats exposed to lead at different periods in order to provide a theoretical basis for the study of the mechanism of lead nerve injury.@*Methods@#Sixty-four healthy adult SPF male SD rats were randomly divided into control group and lead exposure group, after one week of adaptive feeding, rats in the lead exposure group were treated with 250 mg/L lead acetate, and rats in control group were treated with ordinary drinking water, the experimental period was 12 weeks. After exposure for 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks, the samples including blood, choroid plexus, cerebrospinal fluid, cortex, hippocampus, striatum, hypothalamus, amygdala, substantia nigra and cerebellum were obtained. Lead, copper and iron content in all kinds of samples were detected by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry(ICP-MS). The measurement data were presented as Mean±SD, Comparison of metal contents in different tissues of rats at different time analyzed using repeated measurement analysis of variance, Two-variable correlation analysis using Spearman correlation test.The relationship between lead exposure experiod and copper and iron in samples was studied by using trend test.@*Results@#After 12 weeks of lead exposure compared with the control group, lead contents in cortex, hippocampus, striatum, hypothalamus, amygdala, substantia nigra and cerebellum of rats were 2.21, 2.44, 2.95, 3.53, 4.01, 1.85 and 2.86 folds of control group, and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05). At the same time, lead content in blood, cerebrospinal fluid,choroid plexus, brain microvessels and bones increased. The increase rate in the amygdala and cerebrospinal fluid ranked first among brain tissue or barrier,which were 4.01 and 3.0 folds respectively. Compared with the control group, Compared with the control group, copper content in cortex,hippocampus, striatum, hypothalamus,amygdala, cerebellum,blood,cerebrospinal fluid,choroid plexus and cerebral microvasculature showed an increasing trend among rats following 3,6,9,12 weeks of lead exposure. Copper content change in the striatum was highest among all brain tissue. The increase rate of copper content in the striatum was at the top among brain tissues. After 12 weeks of lead exposure,copper content in brain microvessels was 4.98 folds higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After lead exposure at different periods,the iron content in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum,cerebrospinal fluid,choroid plexus and brain microvessels of experimental rats all increased(P<0.05). And the iron increase rate in the hypothalamus or cerebrospinal fluid increase ranked first among brain tissues or body fluid the most obviously.@*Conclusion@#With the increase of exposure time, lead exposure can changes in the contents of copper and iron in different brain tissues,body fluids and barriers in rats,among which, the contents of copper and iron in the amygdala,cerebrospinal fluid and brain microvessels increase significantly. This may be related to nerve damage from lead exposure.

The effect of Huolisu oral liquid combined with mirtazapine tablets on the expression of NE,5-HT in the patients with depression / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To observe the effect of Huolisu oral liquid combined with mirtazapine tablets on the expressions of NE and 5-HT in the patients with depression,and explore the therapeutic efficiency. Methods 75 patients with depression were randomly divided into a study group with 43 cases,which were treated with Huolisu oral liquid and mirtazapine tablets and a control group with 32 cases,which were only treated with mirtazapine tablets The Hamilton depression scale(HAMD)score, serum NE,and 5-HT were detected in the patients before the treatment and 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment separately. Results Before treatment,there were no statistical significance in HAMD score,serum depression NE and 5-HT(t=0.501, 0.520, 0.611,P>0.05). After treated for 4 and 8 weeks, compare with the control group, HAMD score was decreased(t=1.829、2.263, P<0.05), serum 5-HT was increased(t=2.119, 2.870, P<0.05),and NE was increased in the study group(t=2.264, 2.705,P<0.05). Conclusion Huolisu oral liquid combined with mirtazapine tablets can significantly decrease HAMD score,and increase serum NE and 5-HT level. The treatment can improve the depression symptoms in the patients with depression obviously.

Effects of lead exposure on copper and copper transporters in choroid plexus of rats / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of lead exposure on the copper concentration in the brain and serum and the expression of copper transporters in the choroid plexus among rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty specific pathogen-free Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group and three lead-exposed groups, with 8 mice in each group. The lead-exposed groups were orally administrated with 500 (low-dose group)), 1 000 (middle-dose group), and 2 000 mg/L (high-dose group) lead acetate in drinking water for eight weeks. And the rats in control group were given 2 000 mg/L sodium acetate in drinking water. The content of lead and copper in the serum, hippocampus, cortex, choroid plexus, bones, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Confocal and real-time PCR methods were applied to measure the expression of copper transporters including copper transporter 1 (Ctr1), antioxidant protein 1 (ATX1), and Cu ATPase (ATP7A).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, the lead-exposed groups showed significantly higher lead concentrations in the serum, cortex, hippocampus, choroid plexus, CSF, and bones (P < 0.05) and significantly higher copper concentrations in the CSF, choroid plexus, serum, and hippocampus (P < 0.05). Confocal images showed that Ctr1 protein was expressed in the cytoplasm and cell membrane of choroid plexus in control group. However, Ctr1 migrated to CSF surface microvilli after lead exposure. Ctr1 fluorescence intensity gradually increased with increasing dose of lead, except that the middle-dose group had a higher Ctr1 fluorescence intensity than the high-dose group. In addition, the middle- and high-dose groups showed a lower ATX1 fluorescence intensity compared with the control group. Real-time PCR data indicated that the three lead-exposed groups showed significantly higher mRNA levels of Ctr1 and ATP7A compared with the control group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Copper homeostasis in the choroid plexus is affected by lead exposure to induce copper homeostasis disorders in brain tissue, which may be one of the mechanisms of lead neurotoxicity.</p>

Association between serum levels of SP-A, SP-C and the impairment of lung function in coal workers with pneumoconiosis / 中国综合临床

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum levels of surfactant protein( SP)-A,SP-C and lung function impairment in coal workers with pneumoconiosis(CWP) in order to provide evidence for the biomarker study of pneumoconiosis.Methods Thirty-two coal workers with pneumoconiosis snd 41 healthy controls were included in this study.Serum levels of SP-A and SP-C were measured.Grading assessment of dyspnea and pulmonary function including predicted percentages of FVC,FEV1,FEV/FVC,MVV,and DLCO were conducted.Results Among the 32 participants with CWP,the severity of dyspnea was rated as level Ⅲ for 14 and level Ⅳ for 18 individuals.The pulmonary function was significantly impaired in CWP patients with level Ⅳ dyspnea compared with the healthy controls (FEV1％ predicted:[69.38 ± 15.17 ]％ vs.[96.35 ±10.24 ] ％ ; MVV％ predicted:[ 65.89± 8.14 ] ％ vs.[ 94.13 ± 10.38 ] ％ ; DLCO％ predicted:[ 96.51 ±11.37 ] ％.The serum levels of SP-A and SP-C were significantly higher in CWP patients than that in the healthy controls (SP-A:[4.02 ± 1.22] μg/L vs.[2.41 ±0.68 ] μg/L,t =6.480,P =0.001 ;SP-C:[3.58 ±0.67 ] ng/L vs.[ 2.31 ± 0.29] ng/L,t =9.290,P ＜ 0.001 ).Serum SP-A and SP-C levels in CWP patients were found to be significantly correlated with exposure to dust,dyspnea severity,FEV1％ predicted and DLCO％ predicted.Conclusion Serum SP-A and SP-C levels in CWP patients are closely associated with lung function,suggesting their role as candidate biomarkers for CWP.