title: Lipophilic organic pollutants induce changes in phospholipid and membrane protein composition leading to Vero cell morphological change.
abstract: Membrane damage related to morphological change in Vero cells is a sensitive index of the composite biotoxicity of trace lipophilic chemicals. However, judging whether the morphological change in Vero cells happens and its ratio are difficult because it is not a quantitative characteristic. To find biomarkers of cell morphological change for quantitatively representing the ratio of morphological changed cell, the mechanism of cell membrane damage driven by typical lipophilic chemicals, such as trichlorophenol (TCP) and perfluorooctanesulphonate (PFOS), was explored. The ratio of morphologically changed cells generally increased with increased TCP or PFOS concentrations, and the level of four major components of phospholipids varied with concentrations of TCP or PFOS, but only the ratio of phosphatidylcholine (PC)/phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) decreased regularly as TCP or PFOS concentrations increased. Analysis of membrane proteins showed that the level of vimentin in normal cell membranes is high, while it decreases or vanishes after TCP exposure. These variations in phospholipid and membrane protein components may result in membrane leakage and variation in rigid structure, which leads to changes in cell morphology. Therefore, the ratio of PC/PE and amount of vimentin may be potential biomarkers for representing the ratio of morphological changed Vero cell introduced by trace lipophilic compounds, thus their composite bio-toxicity.
authors: a College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse , Tongji University , Shanghai , China.
authors: Ting T
authors: TT
authors: Liao
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Ru W
authors: RW
authors: Jia
authors: Xiao H
authors: XH
authors: Fu
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Chua
mesh_terms: D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002733:Chlorophenols / Q000633:toxicity*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000378:metabolism*; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D014709:Vero Cells; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids; D015415:Biomarkers; D002733:Chlorophenols; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines; D014746:Vimentin; C483858:phosphatidylethanolamine; C003642:trichlorophene; C076994:perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
keywords: Vero cell; lipophilic organic pollutants; membrane protein; morphological change; phospholipid