Abstract
Exposure to fluoride (F) or arsenite (As) through contaminated drinking water has been associated with chronic nephrotoxicity in humans. Autophagy is a regulated mechanism ubiquitous for the body in a toxic environment with F and As, but the underlying mechanisms of autophagy in the single or combined nephrotoxicity of F and As are unclear. In the present study, we established a rat model of prenatal and postnatal exposure to F and As with the aim of investigating the mechanism underlying nephrotoxicity of these pollutants in offspring. Rats were randomly divided into four groups that received NaF (100 mg/L), NaAsO2 (50 mg/L), or NaF (100 mg/L) with NaAsO2 (50 mg/L) in drinking water or clean water during pregnancy and lactation; after weaning, pups were exposed to the same treatment as their mothers until puberty. The results revealed that F and As exposure (alone or combined) led to significant increases of arsenic and fluoride levels in blood and bone, respectively. In this context, F and/or As disrupted histopathology and ultrastructure in the kidney, and also altered creatinine (CRE), urea nitrogen (BUN) and uric acid (UA) levels. Intriguingly, F and/or As uptake induced the formation of autophagosomes in kidney tissue and resulted in the upregulation of genes encoding autophagy-related proteins. Collectively, these results suggest that nephrotoxicity of F and As for offspring exposed to the pollutants from in utero to puberty is associated with deregulation of autophagy and there is an antagonism between F and As in the toxicity autophagy process.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bolt HM, Hengstler JG (2018) Contemporary trends in toxicological research on arsenic. Arch Toxicol 92(11):3251–3253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2311-z
Brahman KD, Kazi TG, Baig JA, Afridi HI, Khan A, Arain SS, Arain MB (2014) Fluoride and arsenic exposure through water and grain crops in Nagarparkar, Pakistan. Chemosphere 100:182–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.11.035
Cai X, She M, Xu M, Chen H, Li J, Chen X, Zheng D, Liu J, Chen S, Zhu J, Xu X, Li R, Li J, Chen S, Yang X, Li H (2018) GLP-1 treatment protects endothelial cells from oxidative stress-induced autophagy and endothelial dysfunction. Int J Biol Sci 14(12):1696–1708. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.27774
Cardenas-Gonzalez M, Osorio-Yanez C, Gaspar-Ramirez O, Pavkovic M, Ochoa-Martinez A, Lopez-Ventura D, Medeiros M, Barbier OC, Perez-Maldonado IN, Sabbisetti VS, Bonventre JV, Vaidya VS (2016) Environmental exposure to arsenic and chromium in children is associated with kidney injury molecule-1. Environ Res 150:653–662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.06.032
Chakraborti D, Rahman MM, Chatterjee A, Das D, Das B, Nayak B, Pal A, Chowdhury UK, Ahmed S, Biswas BK, Sengupta MK, Lodh D, Samanta G, Chakraborty S, Roy MM, Dutta RN, Saha KC, Mukherjee SC, Pati S, Kar PB (2016) Fate of over 480 million inhabitants living in arsenic and fluoride endemic Indian districts: magnitude, health, socio-economic effects and mitigation approaches. J Trace Elem Med Biol Organ Soc Miner Trace Elem (GMS) 38:33–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.05.001
Chattopadhyay A, Podder S, Agarwal S, Bhattacharya S (2011) Fluoride-induced histopathology and synthesis of stress protein in liver and kidney of mice. Arch Toxicol 85(4):327–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-010-0588-7
Chen Y, Graziano JH, Parvez F, Liu M, Slavkovich V, Kalra T, Argos M, Islam T, Ahmed A, Rakibuz-Zaman M, Hasan R, Sarwar G, Levy D, van Geen A, Ahsan H (2011) Arsenic exposure from drinking water and mortality from cardiovascular disease in Bangladesh: prospective cohort study. BMJ (Clinical research ed) 342:d2431. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d2431
Cheng YY, Huang NC, Chang YT, Sung JM, Shen KH, Tsai CC, Guo HR (2017a) Associations between arsenic in drinking water and the progression of chronic kidney disease: a nationwide study in Taiwan. J Hazard Mater 321:432–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.09.032
Cheng Z, Zhu Q, Dee R, Opheim Z, Mack CP, Cyr DM, Taylor JM (2017b) Focal adhesion kinase-mediated phosphorylation of Beclin1 protein suppresses cardiomyocyte autophagy and initiates hypertrophic growth. J Biol Chem 292(6):2065–2079. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M116.758268
Chiarelli R, Roccheri MC (2012) Heavy metals and metalloids as autophagy inducing agents: focus on cadmium and arsenic. Cells 1(3):597–616. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells1030597
Chu BX, Fan RF, Lin SQ, Yang DB, Wang ZY, Wang L (2018) Interplay between autophagy and apoptosis in lead(II)-induced cytotoxicity of primary rat proximal tubular cells. J Inorg Biochem 182:184–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2018.02.015
Das N, Das A, Sarma KP, Kumar M (2018) Provenance, prevalence and health perspective of co-occurrences of arsenic, fluoride and uranium in the aquifers of the Brahmaputra River floodplain. Chemosphere 194:755–772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.021
Dharmaratne RW (2019) Exploring the role of excess fluoride in chronic kidney disease: a review. Hum Exp Toxicol 38(3):269–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/0960327118814161
Dong YT, Wang Y, Wei N, Zhang QF, Guan ZZ (2015) Deficit in learning and memory of rats with chronic fluorosis correlates with the decreased expressions of M1 and M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Arch Toxicol 89(11):1981–1991. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-014-1408-2
Ettinger AS, Arbuckle TE, Fisher M, Liang CL, Davis K, Cirtiu CM, Belanger P, LeBlanc A, Fraser WD (2017) Arsenic levels among pregnant women and newborns in Canada: results from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) cohort. Environ Res 153:8–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.11.008
Flora SJ, Pachauri V, Mittal M, Kumar D (2011) Interactive effect of arsenic and fluoride on cardio-respiratory disorders in male rats: possible role of reactive oxygen species. Biomet Int J Role Metal Ions Biol Biochem Med 24(4):615–628. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-011-9412-y
Gliga AR, Engstrom K, Kippler M, Skroder H, Ahmed S, Vahter M, Raqib R, Broberg K (2018) Prenatal arsenic exposure is associated with increased plasma IGFBP3 concentrations in 9-year-old children partly via changes in DNA methylation. Arch Toxicol 92(8):2487–2500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2239-3
Gong ZG, Wang XY, Wang JH, Fan RF, Wang L (2019) Trehalose prevents cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity by blocking Nrf2 pathway, restoring autophagy and inhibiting apoptosis. J Inorg Biochem 192:62–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2018.12.008
Gonzalez-Horta C, Ballinas-Casarrubias L, Sanchez-Ramirez B, Ishida MC, Barrera-Hernandez A, Gutierrez-Torres D, Zacarias OL, Saunders RJ, Drobna Z, Mendez MA, Garcia-Vargas G, Loomis D, Styblo M, Del Razo LM (2015) A concurrent exposure to arsenic and fluoride from drinking water in Chihuahua, Mexico. Int J Environ Res Public Health 12(5):4587–4601. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120504587
Havasi A, Dong Z (2016) Autophagy and tubular cell death in the kidney. Semin Nephrol 36(3):174–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semnephrol.2016.03.005
Jiang S, Su J, Yao S, Zhang Y, Cao F, Wang F, Wang H, Li J, Xi S (2014) Fluoride and arsenic exposure impairs learning and memory and decreases mGluR5 expression in the hippocampus and cortex in rats. PLoS ONE 9(4):e96041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096041
Jimenez-Cordova MI, Cardenas-Gonzalez M, Aguilar-Madrid G, Sanchez-Pena LC, Barrera-Hernandez A, Dominguez-Guerrero IA, Gonzalez-Horta C, Barbier OC, Del Razo LM (2018) Evaluation of kidney injury biomarkers in an adult Mexican population environmentally exposed to fluoride and low arsenic levels. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 352:97–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2018.05.027
Jing J, Zheng G, Liu M, Shen X, Zhao F, Wang J, Zhang J, Huang G, Dai P, Chen Y, Chen J, Luo W (2012) Changes in the synaptic structure of hippocampal neurons and impairment of spatial memory in a rat model caused by chronic arsenite exposure. Neurotoxicology 33(5):1230–1238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2012.07.003
Khandare AL, Gourineni SR, Validandi V (2017) Dental fluorosis, nutritional status, kidney damage, and thyroid function along with bone metabolic indicators in school-going children living in fluoride-affected hilly areas of Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir India. Environ Monit Assess 189(11):579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6288-5
Linhares D, Camarinho R, Garcia PV, Rodrigues ADS (2018) Mus musculus bone fluoride concentration as a useful biomarker for risk assessment of skeletal fluorosis in volcanic areas. Chemosphere 205:540–544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.04.144
Liu G, Wang ZK, Wang ZY, Yang DB, Liu ZP, Wang L (2016) Mitochondrial permeability transition and its regulatory components are implicated in apoptosis of primary cultures of rat proximal tubular cells exposed to lead. Arch Toxicol 90(5):1193–1209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-015-1547-0
Liu F, Wang XY, Zhou XP, Liu ZP, Song XB, Wang ZY, Wang L (2017) Cadmium disrupts autophagic flux by inhibiting cytosolic Ca(2+)-dependent autophagosome-lysosome fusion in primary rat proximal tubular cells. Toxicology 383:13–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2017.03.016
Livak KJ, Schmittgen TD (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2(-Delta Delta C(T)) Method. Methods (San Diego, Calif) 25(4):402–408. https://doi.org/10.1006/meth.2001.1262
Ma Y, Niu R, Sun Z, Wang J, Luo G, Zhang J, Wang J (2012) Inflammatory responses induced by fluoride and arsenic at toxic concentration in rabbit aorta. Arch Toxicol 86(6):849–856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-012-0803-9
Ma Y, Ma Z, Yin S, Yan X, Wang J (2017) Arsenic and fluoride induce apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Chemosphere 167:454–461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.025
Manthari RK, Tikka C, Ommati MM, Niu R, Sun Z, Wang J, Zhang J (2018) Arsenic-Induced Autophagy in the Developing Mouse Cerebellum: Involvement of the Blood-Brain Barrier's Tight-Junction Proteins and the PI3K-Akt-mTOR Signaling Pathway. 66(32):8602–8614 doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.8b02654
Mendez-Gomez J, Garcia-Vargas GG, Lopez-Carrillo L, Calderon-Aranda ES, Gomez A, Vera E, Valverde M, Cebrian ME, Rojas E (2008) Genotoxic effects of environmental exposure to arsenic and lead on children in region Lagunera, Mexico. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1140:358–367. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1454.027
Mittal M, Chatterjee S, Flora SJS (2018) Combination therapy with vitamin C and DMSA for arsenic-fluoride co-exposure in rats. Metallomics Integr Biometal Sci 10(9):1291–1306. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8mt00192h
Nelson-Mora J, Escobar ML, Rodriguez-Duran L, Massieu L, Montiel T, Rodriguez VM, Hernandez-Mercado K, Gonsebatt ME (2018) Gestational exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs3+) alters glutamate disposition in the mouse hippocampus and ionotropic glutamate receptor expression leading to memory impairment. 92(3):1037–1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-017-2111-x
Park S, Choi J, Biering SB, Dominici E, Williams LE, Hwang S (2016) Targeting by AutophaGy proteins (TAG): targeting of IFNG-inducible GTPases to membranes by the LC3 conjugation system of autophagy. Autophagy 12(7):1153–1167. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2016.1178447
Recio-Vega R, Gonzalez-Cortes T, Olivas-Calderon E, Lantz RC, Gandolfi AJ, Gonzalez-De Alba C (2015) In utero and early childhood exposure to arsenic decreases lung function in children. J Appl Toxicol 35(4):358–366. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.3023
Rocha RA, Gimeno-Alcaniz JV, Martin-Ibanez R, Canals JM, Velez D, Devesa V (2011) Arsenic and fluoride induce neural progenitor cell apoptosis. Toxicol Lett 203(3):237–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2011.03.023
Saint-Jacques N, Brown P, Nauta L, Boxall J, Parker L, Dummer TJB (2018) Estimating the risk of bladder and kidney cancer from exposure to low-levels of arsenic in drinking water, Nova Scotia, Canada. Environ Int 110:95–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.10.014
Samal AC, Bhattacharya P, Mallick A, Ali MM, Pyne J, Santra SC (2015) A study to investigate fluoride contamination and fluoride exposure dose assessment in lateritic zones of West Bengal, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 22(8):6220–6229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3817-4
Sarkozi K, Horvath E, Vezer T, Papp A, Paulik E (2015) Behavioral and general effects of subacute oral arsenic exposure in rats with and without fluoride. Int J Environ Health Res 25(4):418–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2014.958138
Smith AH, Marshall G, Liaw J, Yuan Y, Ferreccio C, Steinmaus C (2012) Mortality in young adults following in utero and childhood exposure to arsenic in drinking water. Environ Health Perspect 120(11):1527–1531. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104867
Song XB, Liu G, Liu F, Yan ZG, Wang ZY, Liu ZP, Wang L (2017) Autophagy blockade and lysosomal membrane permeabilization contribute to lead-induced nephrotoxicity in primary rat proximal tubular cells. Cell Death Dis 8(6):e2863. https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2017.262
Tian X, Feng J, Dong N, Lyu Y, Wei C, Li B, Ma Y, Xie J, Qiu Y, Song G, Ren X, Yan X (2019) Subchronic exposure to arsenite and fluoride from gestation to puberty induces oxidative stress and disrupts ultrastructure in the kidneys of rat offspring. Sci Total Environ 686:1229–1237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.409
Wen D, Zhang F, Zhang E, Wang C, Han S, Zheng Y (2013) Arsenic, fluoride and iodine in groundwater of China. J Geochem Explor 135:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2013.10.012
Xiong X, Liu J, He W, Xia T, He P, Chen X, Yang K, Wang A (2007) Dose-effect relationship between drinking water fluoride levels and damage to liver and kidney functions in children. Environ Res 103(1):112–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2006.05.008
Yamashita SI, Kanki T (2017) How autophagy eats large mitochondria: autophagosome formation coupled with mitochondrial fragmentation. Autophagy 13(5):980–981. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2017.1291113
Yan X, Hao X, Nie Q, Feng C, Wang H, Sun Z, Niu R, Wang J (2015) Effects of fluoride on the ultrastructure and expression of Type I collagen in rat hard tissue. Chemosphere 128:36–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.12.090
Yan X, Dong N, Hao X, Xing Y, Tian X, Feng J, Xie J, Lv Y, Wei C, Gao Y, Qiu Y, Wang T (2019) Comparative transcriptomics reveals the role of the toll-like receptor signaling pathway in fluoride-induced cardiotoxicity. J Agric Food Chem 67(17):5033–5042. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b00312
Yu L, Chen Y, Tooze SA (2018) Autophagy pathway: cellular and molecular mechanisms. Autophagy 14(2):207–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2017.1378838
Zeng QB, Xu YY, Yu X, Yang J, Hong F, Zhang AH (2014) Arsenic may be involved in fluoride-induced bone toxicity through PTH/PKA/AP1 signaling pathway. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 37(1):228–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2013.11.027
Zeng Q, Xu Y, Yu X, Yang J, Hong F, Zhang A (2019) Silencing GSK3beta instead of DKK1 can inhibit osteogenic differentiation caused by co-exposure to fluoride and arsenic. Bone 123:196–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2019.03.016
Zhang S, Niu Q, Gao H, Ma R, Lei R, Zhang C, Xia T, Li P, Xu C, Wang C, Chen J, Dong L, Zhao Q, Wang A (2016) Excessive apoptosis and defective autophagy contribute to developmental testicular toxicity induced by fluoride. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) 212:97–104 doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.059
Zhang YY, Yang M, Bao JF, Gu LJ, Yu HL, Yuan WJ (2018) Phosphate stimulates myotube atrophy through autophagy activation: evidence of hyperphosphatemia contributing to skeletal muscle wasting in chronic kidney disease. BMC Nephrol 19(1):45. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-018-0836-2
Zhao Y, Li Y, Gao Y, Yuan M, Manthari RK, Wang J, Wang J (2018a) TGF-beta1 acts as mediator in fluoride-induced autophagy in the mouse osteoblast cells. Food Chem Toxicol 115:26–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2018.02.065
Zhao Y, Li Y, Wang J, Manthari RK, Wang J (2018b) Fluoride induces apoptosis and autophagy through the IL-17 signaling pathway in mice hepatocytes. Arch Toxicol 92(11):3277–3289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2305-x
Zhu YP, Xi SH, Li MY, Ding TT, Liu N, Cao FY, Zeng Y, Liu XJ, Tong JW, Jiang SF (2017) Fluoride and arsenic exposure affects spatial memory and activates the ERK/CREB signaling pathway in offspring rats. Neurotoxicology 59:56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2017.01.006
Acknowledgements
This research was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773405), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2016M600199), the Program for the Outstanding Innovative Teams of Higher Learning Institutions of Shanxi, the Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (201701D211008), the Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (2017-058), and the PhD Start-up Fund of Shanxi Medical University (BS03201647). X.R. is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants (ES022629).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tian, X., Xie, J., Chen, X. et al. Deregulation of autophagy is involved in nephrotoxicity of arsenite and fluoride exposure during gestation to puberty in rat offspring. Arch Toxicol 94, 749–760 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-019-02651-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-019-02651-y