Efficacy and environmental acceptability of two ballast water treatment chemicals and an alkylamine based-biocide.

Ship's ballast waters transport large numbers of organisms which may become invasive in coastal regions. One option to address this problem is the use of biocides as ballast water treatment (BWT). Efficacy and environmental acceptability of three commercial active substances (the BWT biocides Peraclean(®) Ocean and Seakleen(®), and alkylamine-based biocide Mexel(®) 432/336) were tested against three bacteria species, two vegetative microalgae and one zooplanktonic larva, in 10 and 30 Practical Salinity Unit (PSU) waters. In both salinities, PeraClean(®) Ocean was the most effective biocide against bacteria causing >90% mortality at 20mg/l, compared with 50mg/l for Mexel(®) 432/336 and >500 mg/l for Seakleen(®). Regarding zooplankton, Seakleen(®) was the most effective chemical causing 90% mortality in 24h at concentrations <6 mg/l (LC90(24h)) in both salinities, compared with 23 and 26 mg/l for Mexel(®) 432/336 and 370 and 480 mg/l for PeraClean(®) Ocean in 10 and 30 PSU, respectively. Similar pattern of efficacy was obtained for microalgae in 30 PSU: effective concentrations inducing 50% growth inhibition in 4 days were ≤ 1.6 mg/l for Seakleen(®), ≤ 10.1mg/l for Mexel(®) 432/336 and ≤ 30.9 mg/l for PeraClean(®) Ocean. Our work highlighted that treated waters displayed residual toxicity after 24h still inducing mortality depending on the organism and biocide. However Mexel(®) 432/336 is the only biocide which had no impact on oyster larvae development at effective concentration. Altogether our data showed that Mexel(®) 432/336 was the only biocide displaying a broad spectrum efficacy in concentrations <50mg/l and not toxic for oyster larvae development at this concentration. However residual toxicity of treated waters for any organism should be taken into account in BWT systems utilising biocides.

Vitamin K in parenteral nutrition.

Vitamin K (as phylloquinone and menaquinones) is an essential cofactor for the conversion of peptide-bound glutamate to gamma-carboxy glutamic acid (Gla) residues in a number of specialized Gla-containing proteins. The only unequivocal deficiency outcome is a bleeding syndrome caused by an inability to synthesize active coagulation factors II, VII, IX, and X, although there is growing evidence for roles for vitamin K in bone and vascular health. An adult daily intake of about 100 microg of phylloquinone is recommended for the maintenance of hemostasis. Traditional coagulation tests for assessing vitamin K status are nonspecific and insensitive. Better tests include measurements of circulating vitamin K and inactive proteins such as undercarboxylated forms of factor II and osteocalcin to assess tissue and functional status, respectively. Common risk factors for vitamin K deficiency in the hospitalized patient include inadequate dietary intakes, malabsorption syndromes (especially owing to cholestatic liver disease), antibiotic therapy, and renal insufficiency. Pregnant women and their newborns present a special risk category because of poor placental transport and low concentrations of vitamin K in breast milk. Since 2000, the Food and Drug Administration has mandated that adult parenteral preparations should provide a supplemental amount of 150 microg phylloquinone per day in addition to that present naturally, in variable amounts, in the lipid emulsion. Although this supplemental daily amount is probably beneficial in preventing vitamin K deficiency, it may be excessive for patients taking vitamin K antagonists, such as warfarin, and jeopardize their anticoagulant control. Natural forms of vitamin K have no proven toxicity.

Cytotoxic activity of vitamins K1, K2 and K3 against human oral tumor cell lines.

Vitamin K1, K2 and K3 were compared for their cytotoxic activity, radical generation and O2- scavenging activity. Among these compounds, vitamin K3 showed the highest cytotoxic activity against human oral tumor cell lines (HSC-2, HSG), human promyelocytic leukemic cell line (HL-60) and human gingival fibroblast (HGF). Vitamin K3 induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in HL-60 cells, but not in HSC-2 or HSG cells. The cytotoxic activity of vitamins K2 and K1 was one and two orders lower, respectively, than K3. Vitamin K2, but not vitamin K3, showed tumor-specific cytotoxic action. ESR spectroscopy showed that only vitamin K3 produced radical(s) under alkaline condition and most potently enhanced the radical intensity of sodium ascorbate and scavenged O2- (generated by hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase reaction system); vitamin K2 was much less active whereas vitamin K1 was inactive. These data suggest that the cytotoxic activity of vitamin K3 is generated by radical-mediated oxidation mechanism and that this vitamin has two opposing actions (that is, antioxidant and prooxidant), depending on the experimental conditions.

Association of quinone-induced platelet anti-aggregation with cytotoxicity.

Various anti-platelet drugs, including quinones, are being investigated as potential treatments for cardiovascular disease because of their ability to prevent excessive platelet aggregation. In the present investigation 3 naphthoquinones (2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone [DMNQ], menadione, and 1,4-naphthoquinone [4-NQ]) were compared for their abilities to inhibit platelet aggregation, deplete glutathione (GSH) and protein thiols, and cause cytotoxicity. Platelet-rich plasma, isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats, was used for all experiments. The relative potency of the 3 quinones to inhibit platelet aggregation, deplete intracellular GSH and protein thiols, and cause cytotoxicity was 1,4-NQ > menadione >> DMNQ. Experiments using 2 thiol-modifying agents, dithiothreitol (DTT) and 1-chloro-2,4-dintrobenzene (CDNB), confirmed the key roles for GSH in quinone-induced platelet anti-aggregation and for protein thiols in quinone-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the anti-aggregative effects of a group of 12 additional quinone derivatives were positively correlated with their ability to cause platelet cytotoxicity. Quinones that had a weak anti-aggregative effect did not induce cytotoxicity (measured as LDH leakage), whereas quinones that had a potent anti-aggregative effect resulted in significant LDH leakage (84-96%). In one instance, however, p-chloranil demonstrated a potent anti-aggregative effect, but did not induce significant LDH leakage. This can be explained by the inability of p-chloranil to deplete protein thiols, even though intracellular GSH levels decreased rapidly. These results suggest that quinones that deplete GSH in platelets demonstrate a marked anti-aggregative effect. If this anti-aggregative effect is subsequently followed by depletion of protein thiols, cytotoxicity results.

Critical role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in novel vitamin K analog-induced cell death.

In the present study, we show that 2-(2-hydroxyethylsulfaryl)-3-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, or CPD 5, is a potent growth inhibitor for pancreas cancer cell lines (ID(50): 21.4 +/- 3.8, 31.8 +/- 2.7 and 55.2 +/- 4.5 microM for MiaPaCa, Panc-1 and BxPc3, respectively). It induced protein tyrosine phosphor-ylation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor (c-Met) or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which increased progressively to a maximum level at 30 min in Panc-1 cells. The receptor phosphorylation by CPD 5 was indicated to be functional, since these receptors were found to bind with Grb2 or SOS1 protein. CPD 5 was also suggested to induce phosphorylation of external signal-regulated kinase (ERK). EGF induced cell proliferation through ERK phosphorylation, since U0126, which is an inhibitor of ERK phosphorylation, abrogated the increase of cyclin D1 by EGF. HGF increased the amount of p27 protein, suggesting that it is associated with cell differentiation. By contrast, U0126 reduced CPD 5-induced cell death. On two-dimensional electrophoresis, we found an extra type of phospho-ERK, and this was completely and selectively abolished by U0126. These results suggest that ERK phosphorylation, especially the extra spot on two-dimensional gel, is critically associated with CPD 5-mediated cell death.

Comparison of the protective activities generated by two survival proteins: Bcl-2 and Hsp27 in L929 murine fibroblasts exposed to menadione or staurosporine.

Hsp27 and Bcl-2 are survival proteins that protect against cell death. We have compared the specific protective activity (protection per number of molecules expressed) mediated by these proteins when they are expressed in L929 murine fibroblasts. We found that Hsp27 and Bcl-2 efficiently delayed the cytotoxicity generated by menadione. Both proteins interfered with the mitochondria membrane potential collapse, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst and the decrease in glutathione level induced by this oxidant. In untreated cells, both proteins decreased the ROS levels and raised the glutathione cellular content. Taking their levels of expression into account, we concluded that Bcl-2 was much more active than Hsp27 for counteracting the above-mentioned menadione effects, and for modulating the ROS and glutathione levels in untreated cells. Both Hsp27 and Bcl-2 also conferred cellular resistance to staurosporine, a kinase inhibitor that induces apoptosis without generating an oxidative stress. In this case, Bcl-2 was again much more active than Hsp27. Fractionation studies indicated that, in L929 cells, Hsp27 is essentially present in the cytosol while Bcl-2 is membrane and mitochondria-associated. Hence, despite some similar cellular effects resulting from their expression, Bcl2 and Hsp27 polypeptides protect against oxidative stress and apoptosis with different efficiencies and by using different mechanisms.

Schisandrin B protects against menadione-induced hepatotoxicity by enhancing DT-diaphorase activity.

Pretreating mice with schisandrin B (Sch B), a dibenzocyclooctadiene derivative isolated from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis, at a daily dose of 1 mmol/kg for 3 days protected against menadione-induced hepatic oxidative damage in mice, as evidenced by decreases in plasma alanine aminotransferase activity (78%) and hepatic malondialdehyde level (70%), when compared with the menadione intoxicated control. In order to define the biochemical mechanism involved in the hepatoprotection afforded by Sch B pretreatment, we examined the activity of DT-diaphorase (DTD) in hepatocytes isolated from Sch B pretreated rats. Hepatocytes isolated from Sch B pretreated (a daily dose of 1 mmol/kg for 3 days) rats showed a significant increase (25%) in DTD activity. The increase in DTD activity was associated with the enhanced rate of menadione elimination in the hepatocyte culture. The ensemble of results suggests that the ability of Sch B pretreatment to enhance hepatocellular DTD activity may at least in part be attributed to the protection against menadione hepatotoxicity.

Glial cell type-specific responses to menadione-induced oxidative stress.

Glial cell types in the central nervous system are continuously exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to their high oxygen metabolism and demonstrate differential susceptibility to certain pathological conditions believed to involve oxidative stress. The purpose of the current studies was to test the hypothesis that mtDNA damage could contribute to the differential susceptibility of glial cell types to apoptosis induced by oxidative stress. Primary cultures of rat astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia were utilized, and menadione was used to produce the oxidative stress. Apoptosis was detected and quantitated in menadione-treated oligodendrocytes and microglia (but not astrocytes) using either positive annexin-V staining or positive staining for 3'-OH groups in DNA. The apoptotic pathway that was activated involved the release of cytochrome c from the intermitochondrial space and activation of caspase 9. Caspase 8 was not activated after exposure to menadione in any of the cells. Using equimolar concentrations of menadione, more initial damage was observed in mtDNA from oligodendrocytes and microglia. Additionally, using concentrations of menadione that resulted in comparable initial mtDNA damage, more efficient repair was observed in astrocytes compared to either oligodendrocytes or microglia. The differential susceptibility of glial cell types to oxidative damage and apoptosis did not appear related to cellular antioxidant capacity, because under the current culture conditions astrocytes had lower total glutathione content and superoxide dismutase activity than oligodendrocytes and microglia. These results show that the differential susceptibility of glial cell types to menadione-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis appears to correlate with increased oxidative mtDNA damage and support the hypothesis that mtDNA damage could participate in the initiation of apoptosis through the enhanced release of cytochrome c and the activation of caspase 9.

Protective action of cardiac DT-diaphorase against menadione toxicity in guinea pig isolated atria.

In myocardial preparations isolated from guinea pigs, 2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone (menadione) causes an increase in contractility that is strictly related to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a consequence of quinone metabolism. In heart, menadione undergoes one-electron reduction to semiquinone, a reaction mainly catalysed by mitochondrial NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase. It is also converted to hydroquinone by the soluble two-electron reductase, DT-diaphorase, and is conjugated with GSH by glutathione S-transferase. In order to assess the role of DT-diaphorase in cardiac responses to menadione, we examined the effects of both a specific inhibitor (dicoumarol) and an inducer (beta-naphthoflavone) of the enzyme on the inotropic action of the quinone. In electrically driven left atria of guinea pig, 4 microM dicoumarol significantly enhanced the positive inotropic effect of menadione, especially at the lower concentrations of the quinone. In myocardial preparations isolated from guinea pigs treated with beta-naphthoflavone (80 mg/kg i.p.for 2 days), DT-diaphorase activity was enhanced (+36% with respect to control animals, P < 0. 01), whereas the activities of the other enzymes involved in menadione metabolism were not modified. In these preparations, menadione caused a significantly lower increase in the force of contraction than in atria from untreated animals; moreover, pretreatment with beta-naphthoflavone caused a significant decrease in the menadione-induced oxidative stress, as evaluated from the GSH redox index. Taken together, these results demonstrate that cardiac DT-diaphorase does not contribute to ROS generation, but represents a detoxification system.

Role of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (DT diaphorase) in protection against quinone toxicity.

NQO1-/- mice, along with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, were used to determine the in vivo role of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in cellular protection against quinone cytotoxicity, membrane damage, DNA damage, and carcinogenicity. CHO cells permanently expressing various levels of cDNA-derived P450 reductase and NQO1 were produced. Treatment of CHO cells overexpressing P450 reductase with menadione, benzo[a]pyrene-3,6-quinone (BPQ), and benzoquinone led to increased cytotoxicity as compared with CHO cells expressing endogenous P450 reductase. In a similar experiment, overexpression of NQO1 significantly protected CHO cells against the cytotoxicity of these quinones. Knockout (NQO1-/-) mice deficient in NQO1 protein and activity had been generated previously in our laboratory and were used in the present studies. Wild-type (NQO1+/+) and knockout (NQO1-/-) mice were given i.p. injections of menadione and BPQ, followed by analysis of membrane damage and DNA damage. Both menadione and BPQ induced lipid peroxidation in hepatic and non-hepatic tissues, indicating increased membrane damage. Exposure to BPQ also resulted in increased hepatic DNA adducts in NQO1-/- mice as compared with NQO1+/+ mice. The skin application of BPQ alone and BPQ + 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) failed to induce papillomas, or other lesions, for up to 50 weeks in either NQO1+/+ or NQO1-/- mice. The various results from CHO cells and NQO1-/- mice indicated that NQO1 protects against quinone-induced cytotoxicity, as well as DNA and membrane damage. The absence of BPQ-induced skin carcinogenicity in NQO1-/- mice may be related to the strain (C57BL/6) of mice used in the present study and/or due to poor BPQ absorption into the skin and/or due to detoxification of BPQ by cytosolic NRH:quinone oxidoreductase 2 (NQO2).

Enhanced sensitivity of Streptomyces seoulensis to menadione by superfluous lipoamide dehydrogenase.

Lipoamide dehydrogenase from Streptomyces seoulensis could facilitate menadione-mediated cytochrome c reduction, which was mostly inhibited by superoxide dismutase, indicating the obvious involvement of superoxide radical anion. In this reaction, the production of superoxide radical anion occurred via a menadione semiquinone radical anion. When exposed to menadione, lipoamide dehydrogenase-overexpressing cells showed a much lower survival rate with a concomitant decrease of intracellular protein thiol than the wild-type strain. These results suggest that lipoamide dehydrogenase is a facilitating agent in the redox cycling of quinone compounds in vivo as well as in vitro and could inevitably increase the potential toxicity of the compounds.

Development of a fish in vitro cell culture model to investigate oxidative stress and its modulation by dietary vitamin E.

When cultured in Dulbecco's minimal essential medium the established epithelioma papulosum cyprini cell line from carp was found to be vitamin E-deficient due to the very low level of vitamin E in the medium and the foetal calf serum used as supplement. The toxicity of oxidative stressors to this cell line was evaluated by means of the neutral red cytotoxicity assay and it was found that an organic hydroperoxide, t-butylhydroperoxide was extremely cytotoxic and that the redox-cycling agents diquat and menadione were less toxic. When grown under vitamin E supplementation (25 microM), the toxicity of these chemicals was reduced by at least an order of magnitude in concentration demonstrating the protective effect of vitamin E. These data show the importance of vitamin E status for interpretation of in vitro and in vivo data and that this in vitro system is useful for mechanistic studies.

A unique cytosolic activity related but distinct from NQO1 catalyses metabolic activation of mitomycin C.

Mitomycin C (MMC) is a prototype bioreductive drug employed to treat a variety of cancers including head and neck cancer. Among the various enzymes, dicoumarol inhibitable cytosolic NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase1 (NQO1) was shown to catalyse bioreductive activation of MMC leading to cross-linking of the DNA and cytotoxicity. However, the role of NQO1 in metabolic activation of MMC has been disputed. In this report, we present cellular and animal models to demonstrate that NQO1 may play only a minor role in metabolic activation of MMC. We further demonstrate that bioreductive activation of MMC is catalysed by a unique cytosolic activity which is related but distinct from NQO1. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were developed that permanently express higher levels of cDNA-derived NQO1. These cells showed significantly increased protection against menadione toxicity. However, they failed to demonstrate higher cytotoxicity due to exposure to MMC under oxygen (normal air) or hypoxia, as compared to the wild-type control CHO cells. Disruption of the NQO1 gene by homologous recombination generated NQO1-/- mice that do not express the NQO1 gene resulting in the loss of NQO1 protein and activity. The cytosolic fractions from liver and colon tissues of NQO1-/- mice showed similar amounts of DNA cross-linking upon exposure to MMC, as observed in NQO1+/+ mice. The unique cytosolic activity that activated MMC in cytosolic fractions of liver and colon tissues of NQO1-/- mice was designated as cytosolic MMC reductase. This activity, like NQO1, was inhibited by dicoumarol and immunologically related to NQO1.

DT-diaphorase protects against menadione-induced oxidative stress.

To study the role of DT-diaphorase in menadione-mediated cytotoxicity, menadione-resistant cells were selected from P19 cells by stepwise increasing concentrations of menadione from 10 to 60, 120 or 300 microM without mutagenic pretreatment. Three isolated clones, K60, K120 and K300, were maintained in media containing 60, 120 or 300 microM menadione, respectively. The resistance of these cells to menadione, in order, was: K300 > K120 > K60 > P19 cells. K300 cells were the most resistant. Acquisition of resistance was associated with elevation in DT-diaphorase activity. Pretreatment of the resistant cells with 30 microM dicumarol at 37 degrees C for 30 min sensitized the resistant cells to menadione. When the resistant cells were maintained in the absence of menadione for 28 days, the resistance of K60 and K120 cells was lost. The lower degree of resistance was accompanied by a decrease in DT-diaphorase activity in the revertant cells. However, the resistance and the activity of DT-diaphorase in K300 cells were quite stable in the same period. These results support strongly that DT-diaphorase protects against menadione-induced oxidative stress.

Menadione-induced vascular endothelial dysfunction and its possible significance.

Although several studies have shown that treatment with menadione leads to endothelial cell cytotoxicity, investigations of menadione's effects on blood vessels are limited. Our previous studies have shown that menadione can indirectly induce alterations in vasomotor tone through platelet cytotoxicity. To determine if menadione affects vascular function, we investigated the effect of menadione on blood vessels using the isolated rat aortic rings in vitro organ bath system. Treatment with menadione directly resulted in contraction of aortic rings with endothelium but did not cause any effect on aortic rings without endothelium. Menadione irreversibly inhibited the acetylcholine- and histamine-induced relaxation of aortic rings with endothelium in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Menadione treatment potentiated phenylephrine- and serotonin-induced vasoconstriction in aortic rings with endothelium. These in vitro results were observed at concentrations of menadione that are highly relevant to human therapeutics with menadione. When menadione was administrated intravenously to rats, blood pressure increased significantly in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, menadione infusion suppressed the blood pressure reduction induced by acetylcholine. By demonstrating that menadione caused in vitro endothelial dysfunction (i.e., decreased relaxation and increased vasoconstriction in the organ bath experiments) and confirming that these results were consistent with in vivo observations, we have provided evidence suggesting that a quinone such as menadione can alter vasomotor tone through endothelial dysfunction. Such dysfunction could possibly contribute to vascular diseases.

Regulation of antioxidant enzyme gene expression in response to oxidative stress and during differentiation of mouse skeletal muscle.

Various properties of skeletal muscle, including high metabolic activity and high levels of heme-containing proteins, render it particularly susceptible to free radical injury. Indeed, cellular injury from reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated in many muscle disorders. Thus muscle cell survival is critically dependent on the ability of the cell to respond to periods of oxidative stress. To investigate this important homeostatic response, we studied the effect of oxidative challenges on the expression of genes encoding the antioxidant enzymes Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), Mn-superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) in myotube cultures. Using Northern blot analysis, we found that treatment with the pro-oxidant paraquat resulted in time- and dose-dependent increases of transcript levels that were greatest for GPx and CAT (approximately 4-5 fold). CuZnSOD and MnSOD transcripts were also increased, albeit more modestly (approximately 2-3 fold). Transcript levels were also induced by treatment of the cells with two other pro-oxidants, menadione and H2O2, and correlated with the level of oxidative injury to the cells, measured as protein carbonyl group formation. Activities of all of the enzymes increased in response to the oxidative challenges, although the magnitudes of the increases were less robust than the increases of the respective transcript levels. In studying the effect of cellular differentiation on antioxidant gene expression and susceptibility to oxidative stress, we found that pro-oxidant treatment resulted in greater oxidative injury to differentiated myotubes than to undifferentiated myoblasts. Furthermore, the increased susceptibility of myotubes correlated with decreased antioxidant defenses-as muscle cells differentiated, both transcript and activity levels of antioxidant enzymes decreased. These data suggest that muscle cells regulate antioxidant defenses in response to oxidative stress and cellular differentiation.

Comparison of selectable and plaque assay systems to detect menadione- and UV-induced lacI mutations in mammalian cells.

We have compared the spontaneous mutation frequency and spectrum of lacI genes recovered from a rat embryonic fibroblast line transfected with a lambda-phage shuttle vector (Rat2lambdalacI) using both the traditional plaque assay as well as a positive selection assay. In addition, mutation frequencies and spectrum were determined after treatment of the cells with either the intracellular superoxide-generating compound, menadione, or UVC light. The differences in mutation frequency between the two systems suggested that the selectable assay was better at discerning relatively small mutation frequency increases, more rapidly and at lower cost, than the plaque assay method. Some novel lacI mutations were observed in mutants derived from the selectable assay. This indicates that the selectable assay system may be a useful tool for assessing the mutagenic potential of different agents.