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Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system

Dissertation (MSc Anatomy (Human Cell Biology))--University of Pretoria, 2021.

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Other Authors: Oberholzer, Nanette
Format: Thesis
Language:en_US
Published: University of Pretoria 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Oberholzer, Nanette
author_browse Oberholzer, Nanette
author_facet Oberholzer, Nanette
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 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 Anatomy (Human Cell Biology))--University of Pretoria, 2021.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/83625
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language en_US
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:38:57.201Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/83625 Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system Oberholzer, Nanette lisellepre@gmail.com Van Rooy, Mia-Jeanne Taute, Helena Pretorius, Liselle UCTD Dissertation (MSc Anatomy (Human Cell Biology))--University of Pretoria, 2021. In recent years, heavy metal exposure has become a serious concern for the health care sector as more humans are being exposed to heavy metals each day. Most of the environmental contamination and human exposure result from anthropogenic activities such as mining and smelting. The industrial and agricultural sectors also play a big role. Cigarette smoke in particular contains trace amounts of heavy metals that puts chronic smokers at serious risk. Previous studies have determined that there is a strong correlation between heavy metal exposure and the production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide formation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) alone and in combination on the erythrocytes and fibrin networks of the coagulation system in human blood. In addition, the ability of these metals to produce reactive oxygen species and nitrite were also determined. The choice of metals for this study were based on a previous study that compared the levels of metals between smokers and nonsmokers and found significantly higher levels of Cd, Pb and Cr in the platelet rich fibrin of smoking individuals. Whole blood was collected from ten volunteers (non-smokers) and exposed to x1, x10 and x100 the heavy metal concentration found in platelet-rich fibrin of cigarette smokers. The scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the Cd + Cr combination groups caused the highest degree of echinocyte formation and fibrin network alterations. These findings were supported by the thromboelastography® analysis that indicated a significant decrease in R-time and SP-values for the Cr-containing group, suggesting a shorter initiation time for clot formation. This may explain why considerable fibrin formation was observed in the Cr-exposed groups (alone or in combination) and support the fact that heavy metals have the ability to influence clot formation and increase the risk of thrombosis. The dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) analysis revealed that the x10 Cd and Pb-exposed groups showed a considerable amount of reactive oxygen species production, compared to the other groups, which can potentially cause oxidative stress. No significant changes were observed in blood nitrite levels in any of the exposure groups. Therefore, the increased production of reactive oxygen species, altered red blood cell and fibrin network morphology as well as a decrease in some of the coagulation parameters support the hypothesis that the coagulation pathway is a potential target for heavy metal toxicity. Anatomy MSc Anatomy (Human Cell Biology) Unrestricted 2022-02-04T08:09:13Z 2022-02-04T08:09:13Z 2022-04 2021 Dissertation Pretorius, L 2021, Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium, alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system, MSc dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd http://hdl.handle.net/2263/83625 A2022 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/83625 en_US © 2022 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
Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
title Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
title_full Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
title_fullStr Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
title_short Investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium, lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
title_sort investigating the effect of the heavy metals cadmium lead and chromium alone and in combination on the components of the coagulation system
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/83625