Department of Zoology, Patna Women's College, Patna University, Patna, Bihar, India.
Department of Zoology, Molecular Biology Laboratory, Patna University, Patna, Bihar, India.
Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024 Apr;397(4):2121-2132. doi: 10.1007/s00210-023-02746-5. Epub 2023 Oct 3.
Selenium is an essential antioxidative micronutrient. This study was conducted to characterize the arsenic toxicity induced on the African fig fly, Zaprionus indianus, and its possible amelioration by selenium. We used computational tools and in vivo experiments to elucidate the mechanism of action of arsenic and selenium on Z. indianus larvae. We conducted experiments to study neurobehavioral parameters including learning and memory ability test and crawling and contraction assays. Our in silico study revealed twelve primary targets of arsenic trioxide. The gene ontology annotation of primary and secondary targets of arsenic trioxide revealed selenocysteine metabolic processes as one of the most reliable targets. To validate our in silico data, we analyzed the effect of arsenic trioxide on larvae of Z. indianus and tested the possible amelioration by sodium selenite supplementation. Our data demonstrated that the arsenic trioxide deteriorated the learning and memory ability of 2nd instar larvae of Z. indianus and such effect was reversed by sodium selenite supplementation. Furthermore, crawling and contraction assay done on 3rd instar larvae showed that there was reduction in both parameters upon arsenic trioxide exposure, which was restored with sodium selenite supplementation. Altogether, our computational and in vivo results strongly indicated that the neurobehavioral defects induced by arsenic trioxide on the larvae of Z. indianus can be successfully alleviated in the presence of sodium selenite.
硒是一种必需的抗氧化微量元素。本研究旨在研究砷对非洲榕果蝇（Zaprionus indianus）的毒性及其可能的硒缓解作用。我们使用计算工具和体内实验来阐明砷和硒对 Z. indianus 幼虫的作用机制。我们进行了神经行为学参数的实验，包括学习和记忆能力测试以及爬行和收缩测定。我们的计算机研究揭示了三氧化二砷的 12 个主要靶标。三氧化二砷的主要和次要靶标的基因本体注释显示，硒代半胱氨酸代谢过程是最可靠的靶标之一。为了验证我们的计算机数据，我们分析了三氧化二砷对 Z. indianus 幼虫的影响，并测试了亚硒酸钠补充的可能缓解作用。我们的数据表明，三氧化二砷恶化了 Z. indianus 第 2 龄幼虫的学习和记忆能力，而这种效应被亚硒酸钠补充所逆转。此外，对第 3 龄幼虫进行的爬行和收缩测定表明，三氧化二砷暴露后这两个参数均降低，而亚硒酸钠补充则恢复了这两个参数。总之，我们的计算和体内结果强烈表明，亚硒酸钠的存在可以成功缓解三氧化二砷对 Z. indianus 幼虫的神经行为缺陷。
