The toxicity of dietary E 171, a food grade titanium dioxide was evaluated. A recent study reported rats receiving E 171 in water developed inflammation and aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the ...gastrointestinal tract. Here, rats received food containing E 171 (7 or 100 days). The 100-day study included feeding E 171 after dimethylhydrazine (DMH) or vehicle only pretreatment. Food consumption was similar between treatment groups with maximum total cumulative E 171 exposure being 2617 mg/kg in 7 days and 29,400 mg/kg in 100 days. No differences were observed due to E 171 in the percentage of dendritic, CD4+ T or Treg cells within Peyer's patches or the periphery, or in cytokine production in plasma, sections of jejunum, and colon in 7- or 100-day E 171 alone fed rats. Differences were observed for IL-17A in colon (400 ppm E 171 + DMH) and IL-12p70 in plasma (40 ppm E 171 + DMH). E 171 had no effect on histopathologic evaluations of small and large intestines, liver, spleen, lungs, or testes, and no effects on ACF, goblet cell numbers, or colonic gland length. Dietary E 171 administration (7- or 100-day), even at high doses, produced no effect on the immune parameters or tissue morphology.
•Dietary E 171 did not change immune cell profile in Peyer's patches or peripherally.•Dietary E 171 did not alter inflammatory cytokine profile in GI tract or circulation.•Dietary E 171 did not increase colonic proliferative lesions.•Dietary E 171 did not induce histopathologic changes in small and large intestine, liver, spleen, lungs, or testes.
•Cotinine induced cell proliferation in urothelial carcinoma cell lines.•nAchR and STAT3 inhibitors blocked cotinine-induced proliferation.•Cotinine induced proliferation of urothelium of rat urinary ...bladder and renal pelvis.•High urinary cotinine concentration may enhance risk of urothelial carcinogenesis.
Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for human cancers including urinary bladder carcinoma. In a previous study, nicotine enhanced rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis using a rat urinary bladder two-stage carcinogenesis model. In the present study, nicotine metabolites (cotinine, trans-3’-hydroxy cotinine and N’-nitrosonornicotine) were evaluated in a cell proliferation assay using urinary bladder urothelial cell lines. Cotinine (0.1 to 1 mM) induced the highest cell proliferation compared to the others, including nicotine, in three bladder cancer cell lines (RT4, T24 and UMUC3 cells). By Western blot, cotinine induced phosphorylation of Stat3 and expression of cyclin D1 in UMUC3 cells. The cell proliferation induced by cotinine was blocked by inhibitors of nicotinic receptors (10 nM SR16584 or 10 μM methyllycaconitine citrate) and Stat3 (100 nM stattic). In an in vivo study, cotinine (13, 40 and 120 ppm) in drinking water also induced cell proliferation and simple hyperplasia in urinary bladder and renal pelvis urothelium of rats, but to a lesser degree compared to nicotine (40 ppm). Cytotoxicity detected by scanning electron microscopy and apoptosis in the bladder urothelium were induced by nicotine but not cotinine. These data suggest that cotinine is able to induce urothelial cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo, and high urinary concentrations may enhance urothelial carcinogenesis.
•Nicotine induced urothelial cytotoxicity with regenerative proliferation.•Nicotine promoted BBN-induced rat urothelial carcinogenesis.•nAChR inhibitors inhibited proliferation and simple hyperplasia ...induced by nicotine.•nAChR inhibitors didn’t inhibit cytotoxicity of nicotine.•The cytotoxic concentration of nicotine was > 1 mM in vitro.
Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for human cancers including urinary bladder carcinoma. Cigarette smoke inhalation in mice and orally administered nicotine in rats and mice increased urothelial cell proliferation. Nicotine, a major component of smoke, induced cell proliferation in multiple cell types in vitro. In the present study, the enhancing effects of nicotine on F344 rat bladder carcinogenesis induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) were examined. Nicotine administered in drinking water for 32 weeks following 4 weeks of BBN treatment significantly increased the incidence and number of urothelial carcinomas dose-dependently. Ki67 and pSTAT3 labeling indices and expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha 7 (nAChRα7) in non-tumor bladder urothelial lesions were significantly increased by nicotine, but the TUNEL assay for apoptosis showed no increase. In a 4 week study, inhibitors of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor decreased nicotine-induced urothelial simple hyperplasia and Ki67 labeling index in the bladder and kidney pelvis at a single cytotoxic dose of nicotine (40 ppm). Urothelial cytotoxicity with regenerative proliferation was observed by light and scanning electron microscopy. In vitro, nicotine was not cytotoxic to rat or human immortalized urothelial cells (do not express nicotine receptors) below millimolar concentrations, nor in human RT4, T24 or UMUC3 urothelial carcinoma cells (express nicotine receptors). However, nicotine slightly, but statistically significantly, increased cell proliferation at micromolar concentrations in human urothelial carcinoma cells. These data suggest that nicotine enhances urinary bladder carcinogenesis by inducing cytotoxicity with regenerative proliferation. The possible role of direct mitogenesis, involving nAChR and STAT3 signaling and of nicotine receptors requires further investigation at non-cytotoxic doses of nicotine.
•Nicotine-induced simple hyperplasia in bladder urothelium was inhibited by apocynin.•Nicotine-induced proliferation and apoptosis was suppressed by apocynin.•ROS generation by nicotine was reduced ...by apocynin in the bladder urothelium.•Oxidative stress may play a role in nicotine-induced proliferation of the urothelium.
Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for human cancers including urinary bladder carcinoma. In a previous study, nicotine enhanced rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis in a two-stage carcinogenesis model. Nicotine also induced cytotoxicity in the bladder urothelium in a short-term study. In the present study, male rats were treated with nicotine (40 ppm) in drinking water co-administered with the NADPH oxidase inhibitor, apocynin (0, 250 or 750 mg/kg) in diet for 4 weeks. The apocynin treatment induced no clinical toxic effects. Reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by apocynin was confirmed by immunohistochemistry of 8-OHdG in the bladder urothelium. Incidences of simple hyperplasia, cell proliferation and apoptosis were reduced by apocynin treatment in the bladder urothelium. However, despite reduction of cell proliferation (labeling index), apocynin did not affect the incidence of simple hyperplasia, apoptosis, or ROS generation in the kidney pelvis urothelium, in addition to 8-OHdG positivity induced by nicotine being lower. In vitro, apocynin (500 μM) reduced ROS generation, but induced cell proliferation in bladder cancer cell lines (T24 and UMUC3 cells). These data suggest that oxidative stress may play a role in the cell proliferation of the bladder urothelium induced by nicotine.
Highlights • Rats and mice orally administered with nicotine tartrate for total of 4 weeks. • No treatment-related death or whole body toxicity observed in any of the groups. • Urothelium showed ...simple hyperplasia in treated rats and mice. • No significant change in BrdU labeling index or SEM classification of urothelium.
The enzyme arsenic (+3 oxidation state) methyltransferase (As3mt) catalyzes reactions converting inorganic arsenic to methylated metabolites, some of which are highly cytotoxic. In a previous study, ...female As3mt knockout (KO) mice treated with diet containing 100 or 150 ppm arsenic as arsenite showed systemic toxicity and significant effects on the urothelium. In the present study, we showed that the cytotoxic and proliferative effects of arsenite administration on the urothelium are dose dependent. Female wild-type C57BL/6 mice and As3mt KO mice were divided into five groups (n = 7) with free access to drinking water containing 0, 1, 10, 25, or 50 ppm arsenic as arsenite for 4 weeks. At sacrifice, urinary bladders of both As3mt KO and wild-type mice showed hyperplasia by light microscopy; however, the hyperplasia was more severe in the As3mt KO mice. Intracytoplasmic granules were detected in the urothelium of As3mt KO and wild-type mice at arsenic doses ≥ 10 ppm but were more numerous, more extensive, and larger in the KO mice. A no effect level for urothelial effects was identified at 1 ppm arsenic in the wild-type and As3mt KO mice. In As3mt KO mice, livers showed mild acute inflammation and kidneys showed hydronephrosis. The present study shows a dose-response for the effects of orally administered arsenite on the bladder urothelium of wild-type and As3mt KO mice, with greater effects in the KO strain but with a no effect level of 1 ppm for both.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors, which belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily. Some PPARγ agonists, such as pioglitazone, and dual ...PPARγ/PPARα agonists, such as muraglitazar, induced urothelial bladder tumors in rats but not in mice. In this study, we investigated the early effects in the urine and bladder of rats treated with pioglitazone to evaluate the possible relation between urinary solids formation and urothelial cytotoxicity and regenerative proliferation. In a 4-week experiment, treatment of rats with 16 mg/kg pioglitazone induced cytotoxicity and necrosis of the urothelial superficial layer, with increased cell proliferation measured by bromodeoxyuridine labeling index and hyperplasia by histology. It also produced alterations in urinary solid formation, especially calcium-containing crystals and calculi. PPARγ agonists (pioglitazone and troglitazone) in vitro reduced rat urothelial cell proliferation and induced uroplakin synthesis, a specific differentiation marker in urothelial cells. Our data support the hypothesis that the bladder tumors produced in rats by pioglitazone are related to the formation of urinary solids. This strongly supports the previous conclusion in studies with muraglitazar that this is a rat-specific phenomenon and does not pose a urinary bladder cancer risk to humans treated with these agents.
Based on epidemiological data, chronic exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic in drinking water is carcinogenic to humans, inducing skin, urinary bladder and lung tumors.
In vivo, inorganic ...arsenic is metabolized to organic methylated arsenicals including the highly toxic dimethylarsinous acid (DMA
III) and monomethylarsonous acid (MMA
III). Short-term treatment of rats with 100 μg/g trivalent arsenic (As
III) as sodium arsenite in the diet or in drinking water induced cytotoxicity and necrosis of the urothelial superficial layer, with increased cell proliferation and hyperplasia. The objectives of this study were to determine if these arsenic-induced urothelial effects are dose responsive, the dose of arsenic at which urothelial effects are not detected, and the urinary concentrations of the arsenical metabolites. We treated female F344 rats for 5 weeks with sodium arsenite at dietary doses of 0, 1, 10, 25, 50, and 100 ppm. Cytotoxicity, cell proliferation and hyperplasia of urothelial superficial cells were increased in a dose-responsive manner, with maximum effects found at 50 ppm As
III. There were no effects at 1 ppm As
III. The main urinary arsenical in As
III-treated rats was the organic arsenical dimethylarsinic acid (DMA
V). The thio-metabolites dimethylmonothioarsinic acid (DMMTA
V) and monomethylmonothioarsinic acid (MMMTA
V) were also found in the urine of As
III-treated rats. The LC
50 concentrations of DMMTA
V for rat and human urothelial cells
in vitro were similar to trivalent oxygen-containing arsenicals. These data suggest that dietary As
III-induced urothelial cytotoxicity and proliferation are dose responsive, and the urothelial effects have a threshold corresponding to the urinary excretion of measurable reactive metabolites.
Diuron is carcinogenic to the rat urinary bladder at high dietary levels. The proposed mode of action (MOA) for diuron is urothelial cytotoxicity and necrosis followed by regenerative urothelial ...hyperplasia. Diuron-induced urothelial cytotoxicity is not due to urinary solids. Diuron is extensively metabolized, and in rats, N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)urea (DCPU) and 4,5-dichloro-2-hydroxyphenyl urea (2-OH-DCPU) were the predominant urinary metabolites; lesser metabolites included N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-3-methylurea (DCPMU) and trace levels of 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA). In humans, DCPMU and DCPU have been found in the urine after a case of product abuse. To aid in elucidating the MOA of diuron and to evaluate the metabolites that are responsible for the diuron toxicity in the bladder epithelium, we investigated the urinary concentrations of metabolites in male Wistar rats treated with 2500ppm of diuron, the urothelial cytotoxicity in vitro of the metabolites and their gene expression profiles. DCPU was found in rat urine at concentrations substantially greater than the in vitro IC50 and induced more gene expression alterations than the other metabolites tested. 2-OH-DCPU was present in urine at a concentration approximately half of the in vitro IC50, whereas DCPMU and DCA were present in urine at concentrations well below the IC50. For the diuron-induced MOA for the rat bladder, we suggest that DCPU is the primary metabolite responsible for the urothelial cytotoxicity with some contribution also by 2-OH-DCPU. This study supports a MOA for diuron-induced bladder effects in rats consisting of metabolism to DCPU (and 2-OH-DCPU to a lesser extent), concentration and excretion in urine, urothelial cytotoxicity, and regenerative proliferation.
Arsenic (+
3 oxidation state) methyltransferase (
As3mt) catalyzes reactions which convert inorganic arsenic to methylated metabolites. This study determined whether the As3mt null genotype in the ...mouse modifies cytotoxic and proliferative effects seen in urinary bladders of wild type mice after exposure to inorganic arsenic. Female wild type C57BL/6 mice and
As3mt KO mice were divided into 3 groups each (
n
=
8) with free access to a diet containing 0, 100 or 150
ppm of arsenic as arsenite (As
III). During the first week of As
III exposure,
As3mt KO mice exhibited severe and lethal systemic toxicity. At termination, urinary bladders of both
As3mt KO and wild type mice showed hyperplasia by light microscopy. As expected, arsenic-containing granules were found in the superficial urothelial layer of wild type mice. In
As3mt KO mice these granules were present in all layers of the bladder epithelium and were more abundant and larger than in wild type mice. Scanning electron microscopy of the bladder urothelium of
As3mt KO mice treated with 100
ppm As
III showed extensive superficial necrosis and hyperplastic changes. In
As3mt KO mice, livers showed severe acute inflammatory changes and spleen size and lymphoid areas were decreased compared with wild type mice. Thus, diminished arsenic methylation in
As3mt KO mice exacerbates systemic toxicity and the effects of As
III on the bladder epithelium, showing that altered kinetic and dynamic behavior of arsenic can affect its toxicity.