The association of cysteine to thiomersal attenuates its apoptosis-mediated cytotoxicity in zebrafish

Dutta, D and Show, S and Pal, A and Anifowoshe, AT and Prasad Aj, M and Nongthomba, U (2024) The association of cysteine to thiomersal attenuates its apoptosis-mediated cytotoxicity in zebrafish. In: Chemosphere, 350 .

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Abstract

Thiomersal (TM) is an excellent preservative that is used in a wide variety of products, like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and vaccines, etc. Its usage has been in decline because of safety concerns. Since vaccine production is on the rise, its use may increase further in low-income and developing countries, as a cost-effective vaccine preservative. Further, Thiomersal is still being used as an essential component in various pharmaceutical preparations. In this light, the present study addresses its mechanism of toxicity in zebrafish and unveils a novel strategy for lessening its negative effects by conjugating cysteine to it, while retaining its antibacterial efficacy. We show that the mitochondrial membrane potential is destabilised by TM, leading to the induction of apoptosis. Interestingly, TM-cysteine conjugate (at a ratio of 1:1) showed no toxicity in zebrafish, whereas TM alone was highly toxic. Importantly, assaying for the bactericidal activity, tested using Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), revealed that the conjugate retains the antibacterial activity, demonstrating that the TM-cysteine conjugate is a safer alternative to TM as a vaccine preservative, and in all the other products that still use TM. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Chemosphere
Publisher:	Elsevier Ltd
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Publisher.
Keywords:	Amino acids; Cost effectiveness; Developing countries; Escherichia coli; Mitochondria; Molecular biology; Toxicity; Vaccines, Antibacterials; Cost effective; Cysteine-S conjugate; Endocytose; Low incomes; Safety concerns; Thiomersal; Vaccine preservative; Vaccine production; Zebrafish, Cell death, caveolin 1; cysteine; thiomersal, antimicrobial activity; apoptosis; coliform bacterium; cyprinid; membrane; toxicity; vaccine, antibacterial activity; apoptosis; Article; bactericidal activity; cell viability assay; comet assay; cytotoxicity; endocytosis; Escherichia coli; fish stock; immunocytochemistry; larva; mass spectrometry; methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus; mitochondrial membrane potential; nonhuman; Western blotting; zebra fish
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Reproduction, Development & Genetics
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2024 05:05
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2024 05:05
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/83922

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