Zhao Yanan, Ni Shenyao, Pei Chengcheng, Sun Lingyan, Wu Lijun, Xu An, Nie Yaguang, Liu Yun
Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, PR China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Control Technology; High Magnetic Field Laboratory, HFIPS, Anhui, Chinese Academy of Science, Hefei 230031, PR China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Feb 20;912:169461. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169461. Epub 2023 Dec 22.
Mercury (Hg) is one of the major pollutants in the environment, which requires effective countermeasures to manage its risk to both human health and the ecosystem. The antagonistic effect of selenium (Se) against methyl mercury (MeHg) and HgCl was evaluated using parent and offspring Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in this study. Through designated acute exposure of 24 h, our results showed that both MeHg and HgCl induced dose-dependent reproductive toxicity, including increased germ cell apoptosis, decrease in the number of oocytes, brood size, and sperm activation. The increased germ cell apoptosis was even higher in F1 and F2 generations, but returned to control level in F3 generation. Pretreatment with Se significantly suppressed the reproductive toxicity caused by Hg in both parental worms and their offspring, but had little influence on Hg accumulation. The protective role of Se was found closely related to the chemical forms of Hg: mtl-1 and mtl-2 genes participated in reducing the toxicity of HgCl, while the gst-4 gene was involved in the reduced toxicity of MeHg. The formation of Se-Hg complex and the antioxidant function of Se were considered as possible antagonistic mechanisms. Our data indicated that pretreatment with Se could effectively protect C. elegans and their offspring against the reproductive toxicity of Hg in different chemical forms, which provided a reference for the prevention of Hg poisoning and essential information for better understanding the detoxification potential of Se on heavy metals.
汞（Hg）是环境中的主要污染物之一，需要采取有效对策来管控其对人类健康和生态系统的风险。本研究使用亲代和子代秀丽隐杆线虫（C. elegans）评估了硒（Se）对甲基汞（MeHg）和氯化汞（HgCl）的拮抗作用。通过设定的24小时急性暴露，我们的结果表明，MeHg和HgCl均诱导了剂量依赖性生殖毒性，包括生殖细胞凋亡增加、卵母细胞数量减少、产卵量减少以及精子活性降低。生殖细胞凋亡增加在F1和F2代中更为明显，但在F3代中恢复到对照水平。用Se预处理可显著抑制亲代线虫及其子代中Hg引起的生殖毒性，但对Hg积累影响较小。发现Se的保护作用与Hg的化学形式密切相关：mtl-1和mtl-2基因参与降低HgCl的毒性，而gst-4基因参与降低MeHg的毒性。Se-Hg复合物的形成和Se的抗氧化功能被认为是可能的拮抗机制。我们的数据表明，用Se预处理可以有效保护秀丽隐杆线虫及其子代免受不同化学形式Hg的生殖毒性，这为预防Hg中毒提供了参考，并为更好地理解Se对重金属的解毒潜力提供了重要信息。
