Hematological and Cytogenetic Effects of X-rays in Cardiac Unit Workers and Catheterization Patients.

Introduction X-rays are widely used in medicine for diagnosis and treatment. Such beneficial uses may cause potentially hazardous situations for patients and workers in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. The present study aims to estimate the radiation dose scattered in different parts of the catheterization units and doses absorbed by workers in this unit, and patients who underwent cardiac catheterization procedures to evaluate all changes in hematological parameters and damaged cells (the cells that contain a number of chromosomal aberrations) after exposure to radiation at Azadi Teaching Hospital in the Duhok City of Iraq. Methodology The study was conducted in one year and involved 19 male workers chronically exposed to X-ray machines in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, and 45 patients, 20 males and 25 females, who have been exposed to lower doses of X-ray during the cardiac catheterization process. There were 32 healthy individuals, 19 males and 13 females, as a control. Scattered radiation was calculated using an area monitoring detector. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dosimeter and Flat Panel Detector (FPD) were used to calculate absorbed doses by workers and patients, respectively. Twelve hematological parameters before and after radiation were examined between study groups; the cytogenetic effects, damaged cells, and chromosomal aberrations of the white blood cells of workers, patients in the catheterization unit, and individuals of the control group were analyzed. Results The results showed that the scattered X-rays in the catheterization unit after one year of continuous detection did not change significantly compared to the data before the start of the trial. The results of all blood parameters looked to be significantly different (p<0.05) compared to the controls but within the normal range. There is no significant difference (p>0.05) in corpuscular hemoglobin, white blood cells, red distribution width, and neutrophil values for workers after one year of exposure as compared with the control. Also, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in white blood cells, neutrophils, and monocyte values for patients after the operation. The current study showed the damaged cells in workers were significantly different compared to the control. At the same time, the differences were non-significant for all workers (p=0.0962) after one year of exposure. The differences in damaged cells in patients were highly significant after the operation (p=0.0003). The present study demonstrated that the inductions of dicentrics, acentric, chromosome break, and ring chromosomes in human lymphocytes were intimately related to the irradiation dose. Conclusions The present study found that the scattered X-rays in the catheterization unit after the end of the experiment did not change significantly. The current study also revealed that the exposure to X-rays had no significant effects on the blood indicators of workers and patients in the catheterization unit, whereas the damaged cells in patients did not change significantly compared with the control group at the beginning of the experiment. In patients, these cells were increased after the operation but were present at a high level in the workers, as compared with controls. The damaged cells in workers remained constant from the beginning of the experiment till the end. Finally, patients had increased damaged cells after the end of the trial period compared to workers.

The effects of nickel oxide nanoparticles on structural changes, heme degradation, aggregation of hemoglobin and expression of apoptotic genes in lymphocytes.

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) have received great interests in medical and biotechnological applications. However, their adverse impacts against biological systems have not been well-explored. Herein, the influence of NiO NPs on structural changes, heme degradation and aggregation of hemoglobin (Hb) was evaluated by UV-visible (Vis) spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and molecular modeling investigations. Also, the morphological changes and expression of Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA in human lymphocyte cell exposed to NiO NPs were assayed by DAPI staining and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), respectively. The UV-Vis study depicted that NiO NPs resulted in the displacement of aromatic residues and heme groups and production of the pro-aggregatory species. Intrinsic and Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence studies revealed that NiO NPs resulted in heme degradation and amorphous aggregation of Hb, respectively, which the latter result was also confirmed by TEM study. Moreover, far UV-CD study depicted that NiO NPs lead to substantial secondary structural changes of Hb. Furthermore, near UV-CD displayed that NiO NPs cause quaternary conformational changes of Hb as well as heme displacement. Molecular modelling study also approved that NiO NPs resulted in structural alterations of Hb and heme deformation. Moreover, morphological and genotoxicity assays revealed that the DNA fragmentation and expression ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA increased in lymphocyte cells treated with NiO NPs for 24 hr. In conclusion, this study indicates that NiO NPs may affect the biological media and their applications should be limited.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Cerium oxide NPs mitigate the amyloid formation of α-synuclein and associated cytotoxicity.

AIM: Among therapeutic proposals for amyloid-associated disorders, special attention has been given to the exploitation of nanoparticles (NPs) as promising agents against aggregation. METHODS: In this paper, the inhibitory effect of cerium oxide (CeO2) NPs against α-synuclein (α-syn) amyloid formation was explored by different methods such as Thioflavin T (ThT) and 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (ANS) fluorescence spectroscopy, Congo red adsorption assay, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and bioinformatical approaches. Also, the cytotoxicity of α-syn amyloid either alone or with CeO2 NPs against neuron-like cells (SH-SY5Y) was examined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), flow cytometry, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression) assays. RESULTS: ThT and ANS fluorescence assays indicated that CeO2 NPs inhibit the formation of aggregated species and hydrophobic patches of α-syn in amyloidogenic conditions, respectively. Congo red and CD assays demonstrated that CeO2 NPs reduce the formation of amyloid species and ß-sheets structures of α-syn molecules, respectively. TEM investigation also confirmed that CeO2 NPs limited the formation of well-defined fibrillary structures of α-syn molecules. Molecular docking and dynamic studies revealed that CeO2 NPs could bind with different affinities to α-syn monomer and amyloid species and fibrillar structure of α-syn is disaggregated in the presence of CeO2 NPs. Moreover, cellular assays depicted that CeO2 NPs mitigate the cell mortality, apoptosis, and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 gene expression associated with α-syn amyloids. CONCLUSION: It may be concluded that CeO2 NPs can be used as therapeutic agents to reduce the aggregation of proteins and mitigate the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases.

Vitamin K1 As A Potential Molecule For Reducing Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes-Stimulated α-Synuclein Structural Changes And Cytotoxicity.

AIMS: Different kinds of vitamins can be used as promising candidates to mitigate the structural changes of proteins and associated cytotoxicity stimulated by NPs. Therefore, the structural changes of α-syn molecules and their associated cytotoxicity in the presence of SWCNTs either alone or co-incubated with vitamin K1 were studied by spectroscopic, bioinformatical, and cellular assays. METHODS: Intrinsic and ThT fluorescence, CD, and Congo red absorption spectroscopic approaches as well as TEM investigation, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics were used to explore the protective effect of vitamin K1 on the structural changes of α-syn induced by SWCNTs. The cytotoxicity of α-syn/SWCNTs co-incubated with vitamin K1 against SH-SY5Y cells was also carried out by MTT, LDH, and caspase-3 assays. RESULTS: Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that vitamin K1 has a significant effect in reducing SWCNT-induced fluorescence quenching and aggregation of α- syn. CD, Congo red adsorption, and TEM investigations determined that co-incubation of α- syn with vitamin K1 inhibited the propensity of α-syn into the structural changes and amorphous aggregation in the presence of SWCNT. Docking studies determined the occupation of preferred docked site of SWCNT by vitamin K1 on α- syn conformation. A molecular dynamics study also showed that vitamin K1 reduced the structural changes of α- syn induced by SWCNT. Cellular data exhibited that the cytotoxicity of α- syn co-incubated with vitamin K1 in the presence of SWCNTs is less than the outcomes obtained in the absence of the vitamin K1. CONCLUSION: It may be concluded that vitamin K1 decreases the propensity of α- syn aggregation in the presence of SWCNTs and induction of cytotoxicity.