1. Academic Validation
  2. Sulphur dioxide and fluoride co-exposure cause enamel damage by disrupting the Cl-/HCO3- ion transport

Sulphur dioxide and fluoride co-exposure cause enamel damage by disrupting the Cl-/HCO3- ion transport

  • J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2023 Jan 5;77:127131. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2023.127131.
Junlin Yang 1 Tongtong Huang 2 Jianghui Zhang 2 Guohui Bai 3 Wentai Wang 2 Jie Yao 2 Zheng Chen 2 Chenglong Tu 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guian New Region, China; The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
  • 2 School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guian New Region, China.
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Oral Disease Research, School of Stomatology, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guian New Region, China; Toxicity Testing Center of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China. Electronic address: chenglongtu@163.com.
Abstract

Objective: Although there is growing evidence linking the exposure to sulphur dioxide (SO2) and fluoride to human diseases, there is little data on the co-exposure of SO2 and fluoride. Moreover, literature on SO2 and fluoride co-exposure to enamel damage is insufficient. In this work, we concentrate on the concurrent environmental issues of excessive SO2 and fluoride in several coal-consuming regions.

Method: To identify the toxicity of SO2 and fluoride exposure either separately or together, we used both ICR mice and LS8 cells, and factorial design was employed to assess the type of potential combined action.

Result: In this study, co-exposure to SO2 and fluoride exacerbated enamel damage, resulting in more severe enamel defects of incisor and the damage occurred earlier. Cl-/HCO3- exchanger expression is increased by SO2 and fluoride in mouse incisor. Consistent with in vivo results, co-exposure of SO2 and fluoride decreased pHi and increased [Cl-]i level by increasing the expression of the Cl-/HCO3- exchanger in LS8 cells. Furthermore, SO2 and F may increase merlin protein expression, and merlin deficiency causes AE2 expression to decrease in vitro.

Conclusion: Overall, these results indicate that co-exposure to SO2 and fluoride may result in more toxicity both in vitro and in vivo than a single exposure to SO2 and fluoride, suggesting that residents in areas contaminated with SO2 and fluoride may be more likely to suffer enamel damage.

Keywords

AE2; Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-); Fluoride; Merlin; Sulphur dioxide.

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