No abstract

The hypothesis that two known chelators deferiprone (1,2-dimethy1-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one, L1) and desferrioxamine (DFO) might be more efficient as combined treatment than as monotherapies in removing thallium from the body was tested in rats. Six-week-old male Wistar rats received chelators: L1 (p.o.), DFO (i.p.) or L1 + DFO as 110 or 220 mg/kg dose half an hour after a single i.p. administration of 8 mg Tl/kg body weight in the form of chloride. Serum thallium concentration, urinary thallium and iron excretions were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Both chelators were effective only at the higher dose level, while DFO was more effective than L1 in enhancing urinary thallium excretion, L1 was more effective than DFO in enhancing urinary iron excretion. In the combined treatment group, L1 did not increase the DFO effect on thallium and DFO did not increase the effect of L1 on iron elimination. Our results support the usefulness of this animal model for preliminary in vivo testing of thallium chelators. Urinary values were more useful because of the high variability of serum results. Result of combined chelators treatment should be confirmed in a different experimental model before extrapolation to other systems.

The effect ofN-tetramethylene dithiocarbamate (ATC) as a chelating agent on the excretion of cadmium was evaluated in cadmium-poisoned Wistar rats following administration through food and drink. The present research aimed to characterize the potential efficiency of ATC as an orally administered chelator drug after cadmium administration for 60 days. This chelator significantly enhanced the urinary and biliary excretion of cadmium and restored the altered levels of iron. Cadmium and iron concentrations in different tissues were determined by graphite furnace and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS and F AAS) methods, respectively. The chelation therapy results show that ATC is able to remove cadmium ions from different tissues while iron concentration returned to the normal level and the clinical symptoms were also reduced. In summary, we conclude that ATC is able to mobilize and promote the excretion of cadmium in rat organs and reduce the side effects and general symptoms of toxicity caused by cadmium and might be useful for preliminary testing of the efficacy of chelating agents in human body. However, these results should be confirmed in different experimental models before extrapolation to other systems. This testing procedure of course does not provide all the relevant answers for evaluating the efficiency of chelating agents in cadmium toxicity.

Shifts in food microbiomes may impact the establishment of human pathogens, such as virulent lineages of Escherichia coli, and thus are important to investigate. Foods that are often consumed raw, such as lettuce, are particularly susceptible to such outbreaks. We have previously found that an undescribed Sporobolomyces yeast is an abundant component of the mycobiome of commercial romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Here, we formally describe this species as Sporobolomyces lactucae sp. nov. (Pucciniomycotina, Microbotryomycetes, and Sporidiobolales). We isolated multiple strains of this yeast from commercial romaine lettuce purchased from supermarkets in Illinois and Indiana; additional isolates were obtained from various plant phylloplanes in California. S. lactucae is a red-pigmented species that is similar in appearance to other members of the genus Sporobolomyces. However, it can be differentiated by its ability to assimilate glucuronate and D-glucosamine. Gene genealogical concordance supports S. lactucae as a new species. The phylogenetic reconstruction of a four-locus dataset, comprising the internal transcribed spacer and large ribosomal subunit D1/D2 domain of the ribosomal RNA gene, translation elongation factor 1-α, and cytochrome B, places S. lactucae as a sister to the S. roseus clade. Sporobolomyces lactucae is one of the most common fungi in the lettuce microbiome.

No abstract