Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China; Xiamen Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Photoelectric Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; School of Rare Earths, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Institute of Material and Chemistry, Ganjiang Innovation Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ganzhou 341000, China.
Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Cancer, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350122, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Oct 10;894:165018. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165018. Epub 2023 Jun 21.
The increasing demand for rare earth elements (REEs) in modern applications has drawn significant attention. REEs can be introduced into the environment through REE-containing fertilizers, abandoned REE-rich equipment, and mining, persisting and impacting soil quality, nutrient cycles, and plant growth. Scientists have raised concerns about REEs entering the food chain from the environment and eventually accumulating in organisms. Decades of experimental evidence have shown that these effects include inhibited growth, impaired liver function, and alterations in children's intelligence quotients. However, there exists a paucity of research that has elucidated the metabolic-level biological impacts of REEs. In our study, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was used as a model organism to investigate physiological and inherent metabolic changes under exposure to different concentrations of REEs. The diet bacteria of nematodes play a key role in their life and development. Therefore, we investigated the influence of bacterial activity on the nematodes' response to REE exposure. We observed a concentration-dependent accumulation of REEs in nematodes, which consequently led to a reduction in lifespan and alterations in body length. Exposure to a mixed solution of REEs, in comparison to a single REE solution, resulted in greater toxicity toward nematodes. The metabolic results showed that the above changes were closely related to REE-induced amino acid metabolism disorder, membrane disturbance, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. Of note, the presence of living bacteria elicits REE effects in C. elegans. These findings highlight the potential intrinsic metabolic changes occurring in nematodes under REE exposure. Our study raises awareness of the exposure risks associated with REEs, provides valuable insight into the metabolic-level biological impacts of REEs and contributes to the development of effective mitigation strategies to reduce potential risks to human health.
现代应用对稀土元素 (REEs) 的需求不断增加，引起了广泛关注。REEs 可以通过含 REE 的肥料、废弃的富 REE 设备以及采矿进入环境，从而持久地影响土壤质量、养分循环和植物生长。科学家们担心 REEs 会从环境进入食物链，并最终在生物体内积累。数十年来的实验证据表明，这些影响包括生长抑制、肝功能受损以及儿童智商下降。然而，目前关于 REEs 对代谢水平生物影响的研究还很少。在我们的研究中，使用秀丽隐杆线虫 (C. elegans) 作为模型生物，研究了暴露于不同浓度 REEs 下的生理和固有代谢变化。线虫的饮食细菌对其生命和发育起着关键作用。因此，我们研究了细菌活性对线虫对 REE 暴露反应的影响。我们观察到 REEs 在线虫中的浓度依赖性积累，这导致线虫寿命缩短和体长改变。与单一 REE 溶液相比，暴露于 REE 混合溶液中对线虫的毒性更大。代谢结果表明，上述变化与 REE 诱导的氨基酸代谢紊乱、膜干扰、DNA 损伤和氧化应激密切相关。值得注意的是，活细菌的存在会在 C. elegans 中引发 REE 效应。这些发现强调了线虫在 REE 暴露下可能发生的内在代谢变化。我们的研究提高了对 REE 暴露相关风险的认识，为 REEs 的代谢水平生物影响提供了有价值的见解，并有助于制定有效的缓解策略，以降低对人类健康的潜在风险。
