In-Vitro Human Cell Experimental Models in Heavy Metal Research
The study of heavy metal toxicity within the field of toxicology presents challenges due to the significant detrimental impact that even tiny quantities of these metals may have on living organisms. Hence, researchers need to choose an appropriate experimental model, that is safe, meets the needs of the experiment and most closely reflects the real toxicity effects on living things. This review focusses on the utilisation of in-vitro experimental models involving human cells to investigate the toxic effects of heavy metals. Specifically, it examines the cellular mechanisms, responses, oxidative stress, and genotoxicities associated with heavy metal exposure. The aforementioned discoveries not only contribute to the understanding of the adverse health effects associated with excessive heavy metal exposure but also hold significant promise for developing targeted and efficient strategies to safeguard human and environmental health.
Al-Ghafari, A., Elmorsy, E., Fikry, E., Alrowaili, M. and W.G. Carter (2019). The heavy metals lead and cadmium are cytotoxic to human bone osteoblasts via induction of redox stress. PLoS ONE, 14(11): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0225341
Arango, M.-T., Quintero-Ronderos, P., Castiblanco, J. and G. Montoya-Ortíz (2000). Cell culture and cell analysis. In: Cancer and Autoimmunity (p. Chapter 45, Page 741- 754). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-50331-2.x5000-0
Egiebor, E., Tulu, A., Abou-Zeid, N., Aighewi, I.T. and A. Ishaque (2013). The kinetic signature of toxicity of four heavy metals and their mixtures on mcf7 breast cancer cell line. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(10): 5209-5220. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph10105209
Ferreira, L.M., Hochman, B., Vinicius, M. and J. Barbosa (2005). Experimental models in research. Brazilian Surgical Act, 20(Suppl. 2): 28-34.
Gan, J., Bolon, B., Van Vleet, T. and C. Wood (2022). Alternative Models in Biomedical Research: In-Silico, In-Vitro, Ex-Vivo, and Nontraditional In-Vivo Approaches. In: Haschek and Rousseaux’s Handbook of Toxicologic Pathology Volume 1: Principles and Practice of Toxicologic Pathology (pp. 925-966).
Miller, A. C., Brooks, K., Smith, J. and N. Page (2004). Effect of the military-relevant heavy metals, depleted uranium and heavy metal tungsten-alloy on gene expression in human liver carcinoma cells (HepG2). Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 255(1-2): 247-256. https://doi. org/10.1023/B:MCBI.0000007280.72510.96
Morales, M.E., Derbes, R.S., Ade, C.M., Ortego, J.C., Stark, J., Deininger, P.L. and A.M. Roy-Engel (2016). Heavy metal exposure influences double strand break DNA repair outcomes. PLoS ONE, 11(3): e0151367. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151367
Morales, M.E., White, T.B., Streva, V.A., DeFreece, C.B., Hedges, D.J. and P.L. Deininger (2015). The contribution of Alu elements to mutagenic DNA double-strand break repair. PLoS Genetics, 11(3): 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pgen.1005016
Rossi, A., Poverini, R., Di Lullo, G., Modesti, A., Modica, A. and M.L. Scarino (1996). Heavy metal toxicity following apical and basolateral exposure in the human intestinal cell line Caco-2. Toxicology in-Vitro, 10(1): 27-31. https://doi. org/10.1016/0887-2333(95)00097-6
Segeritz, C.P. and L. Vallier (2017). Cell culture: Growing cells as model systems in-vitro. In: Basic Science Methods for Clinical Researchers, Academic Press, Boston, pp. 151- 172. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803077-6.00009-6
Takhar, P. and S. Mahant (2011). In-vitro methods for nanotoxicity assessment : Advantages and applications. Archives of Applied Science Research, 3(2): 389-403.
Tonelli, C., Chio, I.I.C. and D.A. Tuveson (2018). Transcriptional regulation by Nrf2. Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, 29(17): 1727-1745. https://doi. org/10.1089/ars.2017.7342
Verma, A., Verma, V. and A. Singh (2020). Animal tissue culture principles and applications. In: Animal Biotechnology, Second Edition, Academic Press: Boston, pp. 269-293.
Vinken, M. (2020). In-vitro veritas. In: Frontiers in Toxicology, 2 (November 2009), 2019-2020. https://doi. org/10.3389/ftox.2020.00001
Yao, T. and Y. Asayama (2017). Animal-cell culture media: History, characteristics, and current issues. Reproductive Medicine and Biology, 16(2): 99-117. https://doi. org/10.1002/rmb2.12024
Yavuz, E. and Z.B. Doganlar (2019). Genotoxic and apoptotic effects of heavy metal mixture on human aortic vascular smooth muscle cell line. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 10(3): 237-243. https://doi. org/10.22312/sdusbed.513022