Toxicity of three types of arsenolipids: species-specific effects in Caenorhabditis elegans

Julia Bornhorst; Franziska Ebert; Sören Meyer; Vanessa Ziemann; Chan Xiong; Nikolaus Guttenberger; Andrea Raab; Jessica Baesler; Michael Aschner; Jörg Feldmann; Kevin Francesconi; Georg Raber; Tanja Schwerdtle

doi:10.1039/D0MT00039F

Toxicity of three types of arsenolipids: species-specific effects in Caenorhabditis elegans†

Julia Bornhorst,^a Franziska Ebert,^b Sören Meyer,^b Vanessa Ziemann,^b Chan Xiong,^c Nikolaus Guttenberger,^c Andrea Raab,

^d Jessica Baesler,^ab Michael Aschner,^ef Jörg Feldmann,

^d Kevin Francesconi,^c Georg Raber^c and Tanja Schwerdtle

*^b

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Food Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstr. 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany

^b Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Arthur-Scheunert-Allee 114-116, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany
E-mail: tanja.schwerdtle@uni-potsdam.de

^c Institute of Chemistry – Analytical Chemistry, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria

^d TESLA (Trace Element Speciation Laboratory), Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 3UE, UK

^e Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, 10461 Bronx, NY, USA

^f I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia

Abstract

Although fish and seafood are well known for their nutritional benefits, they contain contaminants that might affect human health. Organic lipid-soluble arsenic species, so called arsenolipids, belong to the emerging contaminants in these food items; their toxicity has yet to be systematically studied. Here, we apply the in vivo model Caenorhabditis elegans to assess the effects of two arsenic-containing hydrocarbons (AsHC), a saturated arsenic-containing fatty acid (AsFA), and an arsenic-containing triacylglyceride (AsTAG) in a whole organism. Although all arsenolipids were highly bioavailable in Caenorhabditis elegans, only the AsHCs were substantially metabolized to thioxylated or shortened metabolic products and induced significant toxicity, affecting both survival and development. Furthermore, the AsHCs were several fold more potent as compared to the toxic reference arsenite. This study clearly indicates the need for a full hazard identification of subclasses of arsenolipids to assess whether they pose a risk to human health.

Metallomics

Toxicity of three types of arsenolipids: species-specific effects in Caenorhabditis elegans†

Abstract

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