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An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes

Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016.

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Other Authors: Bester, Megan J.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Bester, Megan J.
author_browse Bester, Megan J.
author_facet Bester, Megan J.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:47.729Z
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provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/56949 An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes Bester, Megan J. neliauys@gmail.com Oberholzer, Hester Magdalena Uys, Cornelia Petronella UCTD Toxicity testing Environmental Pollution Anatomy Health sciences theses SDG-03 SDG-03: Good health and well-being Health sciences theses SDG-11 SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities Health sciences theses SDG-12 SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016. Mining and energy generation, through the burning of coal, are the main anthropogenic activities in South Africa which leads to heavy metal pollution. Eight metals relevant to metal pollution in South Africa were identified. These metals are cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). In the scientific literature, the effects and mechanisms of toxicity of single metals and several double metal combinations are well described. However there is a lack of information on the effects of triple metal combinations. The aim of this study was to determine the toxic effects of metal combinations related to direct toxicity and oxidative effects in ex vivo human erythrocytes. The ex vivo haemolysis assay was used to determine the total toxicity of each metal alone and in double and triple combinations. It was found that from most to least toxic the metals can be ordered as follows: Hg >> Co > Cu > Pb > Mn > Cd > Ni. The effect of Cr could not be determined due to its inherent absorbance at 570 nm. Evaluated at a concentration that caused 10% haemolysis, the combination of Cd:Co:Hg had the highest model deviation ration (MDR) of 2.864 indicating a synergistic toxic effect. An antagonistic effect was observed for several metal combinations with the strongest effect found, with a MDR of 0.399, for Cd:Cu:Ni. Toxicity can be a consequence of oxidative damage and therefore the ability of each metal alone and in double and triple combinations to cause reduced glutathione (GSH) depletion (via direct binding), catalyse the Fenton reaction (hydroxyl radical averting capacity (HORAC) assay), malondialdehyde formation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation) and cause reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation (2 ,7 -Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay) was investigated. Cu and Hg strongly bound GSH and effectively catalysed the Fenton reaction. For both assays, observed effects were not synergistic although some metal combinations showed an antagonistic effect. Within a cellular environment, MDA formation and reactive oxygen species formation (DCFH-DA assay) in erythrocytes was the highest for Cu and Hg. Using the DCFH-DA assay a strong synergistic- and antagonistic effect was observed for the combination Ni:Mn:Hg (MDR = 2.964) and Co:Cr:Ni (MDR =-0.036) respectively. Regarding MDA formation, the synergistic effect was the highest for the Cu:Mn:Pb combination (MDR = 4.990) while for the combination Cd:Cr:Pb (MDR= 0.402) the observed effect was antagonistic. Reduced glutathione depletion was found to be the highest after exposure to the combination of Cu:Pb:Hg. The combination of Co:Cu:Hg formed the most hydroxyl radicals according to the HORAC assay. Lastly the combination of Cu:Mn:Hg caused the most ROS formation of all combinations according to the DCFH-DA assay. The metal combinations found in each assay as having one of the highest effect values did show some correlation between the different assays. Only one of these combinations, the combination of Cu:Mn:Pb did however have a high reading in four of the five assays used. It caused more than 15% haemolysis, more than 80% reduced glutathione depletion, high levels of lipid peroxidation as well as ROS formation. tm2016 em2025 Anatomy MSc Unrestricted SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production 2016-09-26T06:59:01Z 2016-09-26T06:59:01Z 2016/09/02 2016 Dissertation Uys, CP 2016, An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes, MSc Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56949> S2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56949 en © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Toxicity testing
Environmental Pollution
Anatomy
Health sciences theses SDG-03
SDG-03: Good health and well-being
Health sciences theses SDG-11
SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities
Health sciences theses SDG-12
SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production
An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
title An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
title_full An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
title_fullStr An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
title_full_unstemmed An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
title_short An in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
title_sort in vitro study investigating the effect of environmental metal pollutants on erythrocytes
topic UCTD
Toxicity testing
Environmental Pollution
Anatomy
Health sciences theses SDG-03
SDG-03: Good health and well-being
Health sciences theses SDG-11
SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities
Health sciences theses SDG-12
SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56949