Assessment of genotoxic damage induced by exposure to binary mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and three heavy metals in male mice

Abstract

Introduction

Heavy metals (HM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposition has been associated with health problems. Therefore, this research evaluated genotoxicity induced in male mice strain CD-1 exposed to benzo[a]anthracene (B[a]A) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and their interaction with Fe, Pb, and Al.

Methods

Groups of animals were exposed intraperitoneally to HM, PAHs, and mixtures of both. Peripheral blood samples were taken from 0 to 96 h at 24 h intervals; genotoxicity was determined by micronucleus tests and comet assay. Additionally, toxicity and viability were evaluated.

Results

HM and PAHs individually were genotoxic. About toxicity, only Al altered polychromatic erythrocytes number and did not change leukocytes viability. Concerning mixtures, Fe + B[a]P, Fe + B[a]A, Pb + B[a]P increased genotoxicity. There were no changes with Pb + B[a]A. Finally, Al mixtures with both PAHs damage was decreased.

Conclusions

Exposure to HM and PAH caused genetic damage. Fe, Al, and B[a]A, established a genotoxic potential. Every metal can interact with PAHs in different ways. Also, the micronucleus test and the comet assay demonstrated their high capacity and reliability to determine the genotoxic potential of the compounds evaluated in this work.

Keywords:

• Genetic damage
• toxicity
• biomarkers
• micronuclei
• comet assay

Acknowledgments

Norberto Alarcón Herrera, thanks the program Posgrado de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México (UNAM) and to Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnología (CONAHCYT) for the scholarship CVU-778963 granted. We acknowledge the excellent assistance of the Biol. Tomas Ernesto Villamar Duque from Bioterium of Facultad de Estudios Superiores, Iztacala, UNAM. This paper is part of the requirements for obtaining a Doctoral degree at Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, UNAM.

Author contribution

Norberto Alarcón-Herrera: Conceptualization, Visualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original. Sandra Gómez-Arroyo: Writing, Validation, Supervision, Project administration. Saúl Flores-Maya: Methodology, Investigation. Ana Rosa Flores-Márquez: Methodology, Supervision. Paulina González-Abrica: Writing, Image design. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the experiments of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.