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A pot experiment was carried out to assess Cd uptake and accumulation efficiency of Sesbania sesban. Plants were grown in soil spiked with 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 mg/kg Cd. After 120 days, plants were harvested and analyzed for Cd content. A steady increase in Cd accumulation with increasing metal concentration in soil was observed for all treatments. Accumulation of Cd was greatest in roots (86.7 ± 6.3 mg/kg), followed by stem (18.59 ± 1.9 mg/kg), and leaf (3.16 ± 1.1 mg/kg). Chlorophyll content declined with increasing Cd concentration, while proline and protein content increased as compared to control. At higher Cd levels, root, shoot length, and biomass were all significantly reduced (p ≤ 0.001). An increase in total protein along with greater A250/A280 value suggested an increase in metal-protein complexes. Considering the rapid growth, high biomass, accumulation efficiency, and adaptive properties, this plant could be used as a valuable tool for the phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soils.

This work constitutes a general description of the results obtained in native aquatic plant species from Portugal (South Western Europe), for the assessment of the potential for phytofiltration techniques of multielement contaminated water. Uptake patterns for metal(loid)s studied indicate the following features: Uranium accumulation in the range of 243–4979 mg/kg (DW) in Fontinalis antipyretica, Callitriche stagnalis, Callitriche hamulata, Callitriche lusitanica, and Ranunculus peltatus; Arsenic concentration from 346 to 2346 mg/kg in C. lusitanica, C. brutia, Lemna minor, Azolla caroliniana, R. trichophyllus, C. stagnalis, and F. antipyretica; Lead from 90.5 to 1104 mg/kg in R. trichophyllus, rhizomes/roots of Typha latifolia, L. minor, Spirodela polyrrhiza, and Myriophyllum spicatum; Copper from 81.8 to 161 mg/kg in C. lusitanica, C. hamulata, R. trichophyllus, and C. stagnalis; and Zinc from 900 to 34,162 mg/kg in L. minor, Lemanea fluviatilis, C. lusitanica, C. brutia, R. trichophyllus, F. antipyretica, and C. stagnalis. The abundance of some of these plant species, their biomass, relatively high bioproductivity, and their ability to accumulate several toxic elements collectively indicates their potential for the development of phytofiltration methodologies, either in monoculture systems or in combined systems representing natural ecosystems.

Thrombocytopenia in methotrexate (MTX)-treated cancer and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients connotes the interference of MTX with platelets. Hence, it seemed appealing to appraise the effect of MTX on platelets. Thereby, the mechanism of action of MTX on platelets was dissected. MTX (10 mu M) induced activation of pro-apoptotic proteins Bid, Bax and Bad through JNK phosphorylation leading Delta psi m dissipation, cytochrome c release and caspase activation, culminating in apoptosis. The use of specific inhibitor for JNK abrogates the MTX-induced activation of pro-apoptotic proteins and downstream events confirming JNK phosphorylation by MTX as a key event. We also demonstrate that platelet mitochondria as prime sources of ROS which plays a central role in MTX-induced apoptosis. Further, MTX induces oxidative stress by altering the levels of ROS and glutathione cycle. In parallel, the clinically approved thiol antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and its derivative N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) proficiently alleviate MTX-induced platelet apoptosis and oxidative damage. These findings underpin the dearth of research on interference of therapeutic drugs with platelets, despite their importance in human health and disease. Therefore, the use of antioxidants as supplementary therapy seems to be a safe bet in pathologies associated with altered platelet functions.

Thrombocytopenia is one of the most frequently observed secondary complications in many pathological conditions including liver diseases, where hyperbilirubinemia is very common. The present study sought to find the cause of thrombocytopenia in unconjugated hyperbilirubinemic conditions. Unconjugated bilirubin (UCB), an end-product of heme catabolism, is known to have pro-oxidative and cytotoxic effects at high serum concentration. We investigated the molecular mechanism underlying the pro-apoptotic effect of UCB on human platelets in vitro and followed it up with studies in phenylhydrazine-induced hyperbilirubinemic rat model and hyperbilirubinemic human subjects. UCB is indeed found to significantly induce platelet apoptotic events including elevated endogenous reactive oxygen species generation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, increased intracellular calcium levels, cardiolipin peroxidation and phosphatidylserine externalization (p

The rapid industrialization and intensive agricultural activities over the last few decades have resulted in accumulation of various pollutants in the environment, which are distributed over wide areas by means of air and water. This has caused visible detrimental effects to the ecosystem and consequences to human health. Today, many soils throughout the world have undesirably high concentrations of heavy metals. These include lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), silver (Ag), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and the platinum group elements. At low or background concentrations, heavy metals are not pollutants. They occur naturally in the environment due to their presence in bedrocks. Some heavy metals such as Zn and Cu are also essential micronutrients for living organisms. Therefore, the term heavy metal pollution refers to heavy metal levels that are abnormally high relative to normal background levels. All heavy metals at high concentration have strong toxic effects and are regarded as environmental pollutants.