PAN AFRICAN JOURNAL OF LIFE SCIENCES
e-ISSN: 2672-5924
Volume 8, No. 2, August 2024
Pages 172-188
DOI: 10.36108/pajols/4202/80.0260
Arsenic Exposure from Drinking Water Disrupts Hepatic DNA Integrity and Alters Energy Metabolism in Lymphocytes and Brain Tissue
John O. Fatoki1*, Damilola A. Omoboyowa2, Comfort O. Fatoki3, Samuel A. Kehinde4, Taiwo A. Abayomi5, Babatunde J. Dare5, Akinpelu T. Ayandiran6, Lamidi WB. Olaniyan7, Jelili A. Badmus7.
1Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria.
2Department of Biochemistry, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Nigeria,
3Department of Microbiology, Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria.
4Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria.
5Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria.
6Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
7Department of Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
Abstract
Background: Arsenic contamination of underground drinking water has become a major global environmental concern. Studies have linked the consumption of water contaminated by arsenic to myriads of disease outcomes through unknown mechanisms.
Methods: In the present study, the possible effects of varying concentrations of arsenic added to drinking water were on energy- metabolizing enzymes (hexokinase, aldolase, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, Complex I, Complex II, Complex III, and Complex IV) in the lymphocytes and brains of male albino rats. Periodic acid Schiff stain and Feulgen reaction techniques were also used to assess hepatic glycogen level and the possibility of hepatic DNA damage, respectively. Male Wistar rats (n=45) were exposed to arsenic added to drinking water at 100, 150, and 200 ppm for 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Rats in the control group (n=5) received distilled water. At the end of the experimental period, blood was taken via cardiac puncture, and the brain and liver were also excised for biochemical and histological studies.
Results: Exposure to arsenic resulted in significant (p < 0.05) body weight loss with a concomitant increase in the relative brain and liver weights. A significant time- and dose-dependent (p < 0.05) inhibition of the activities of lymphocyte hexokinase and aldolase, lymphocyte and brain malate dehydrogenase, as well as complexes I, II, III, IV in both the lymphocyte and brain was the hallmark of arsenic exposure. Histological studies indicated that arsenic exposure also led to the depletion of hepatic glycogen storage in the liver and marked DNA damage in the arsenic-exposed animals relative to control.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that arsenic perturbed the activities of energy-metabolizing enzymes, which may be one mechanism of arsenic-induced toxicity.
Keywords: arsenic, environmental contaminants, lymphocyte, brain, energy metabolizing enzymes