Oxidative Stress leads to Cell injury/death

Oxidative stress (OS) as a concept in redox biology and medicine has been formulated in 1985 (Sies, 2015). OS is intimately linked to cellular energy balance and comes from the imbalance between the generation and detoxification of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) or from a decay of the antioxidant protective ability. OS is characterized by the reduced capacity of endogenous systems to fight against the oxidative attack directed towards target biomolecules (Wang and Michaelis, 2010; Pisoschi and Pop, 2015).  Glutathione, the most important redox buffer in cells (antioxidant), cycles between reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione disulfide (GSSG), and serves as a vital sink for control of ROS levels in cells (Reynolds et al., 2007).  Several case-control studies have reported the link between lower concentrations of GSH, higher levels of GSSG and the development of diseases (Rossignol and Frye, 2014). OS can cause cellular damage and subsequent cell death because the ROS oxidize vital cellular components such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids (Gilgun-Sherki, Melamed and Offen, 2001; Wang and Michaelis, 2010).

The central nervous system is especially vulnerable to free radical damage since it has a high oxygen consumption rate, an abundant lipid content and reduced levels of antioxidant enzymes (Coyle and Puttfarcken, 1993; Markesbery, 1997). It has been show that the developing brain is particularly vulnerable to neurotoxicants and OS due to differentiation processes, changes in morphology, lack of physiological barriers and less intrinsic capacity to cope with cellular stress (Grandjean and Landrigan, 2014; Sandström et al., 2017). However, it has to be noted that neural stem cells distinguish themeselves from post-mitotic neural cells by their lower ROS levels and higher expression of the key antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase. This increased "vigilance" of antioxidant mechanisms might represent an innate characteristic of NSCs, which not only defines their cell fate, but also helps them to encounter oxidative stress (Madhavan et al., 2006).

OS has been linked to brain aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and other related adverse conditions.  There is evidence that free radicals play a role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, head injury, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Down’s syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease due to cellular damage (Markesbery, 1997; Gilgun-Sherki, Melamed and Offen, 2001; Wang and Michaelis, 2010). OS has also been linked to neurodevelopmental diseases and deficits like autism spectrum disorder and postnatal motor coordination deficits (Wells et al., 2009; Rossignol and Frye, 2014; Bhandari and Kuhad, 2015).

Rat, Mouse: (Sarafian et al., 1994; Castoldi et al., 2000; Kaur et al., 2006; Franco et al., 2007; Lu et al., 2011; Polunas et al., 2011)

(Richetti et al., 2011) - Adult and healthy zebrafish of both sexes (12 animals and housed in 3 L) mercury chloride final concentration of 20 mg/L. Mercury chloride promoted a significant decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity and the antioxidant competence was also decreased.

(Berntssen, Aatland and Handy, 2003) - Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) were supplemented with mercuric chloride (0, 10, or 100 mg Hg per kg) or methylmercury chloride (0, 5, or 10 mg Hg per kg) for 4 months.

Methylmercury chloride

• accumulated significantly in the brain of fish fed 5 or 10 mg/kg
• No mortality or growth reduction
• - 2-fold increase in the antioxidant enzyme super oxide dismutase (SOD) in the brain
• 10 mg/kg - 7-fold increase of lipid peroxidative products (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) and a subsequently 1.5-fold decrease in anti oxidant enzyme activity (SOD and glutathione peroxidase, GSH-Px). Fish also had pathological damage (vacoulation and necrosis), significantly reduced neural enzyme activity (5-fold reduced monoamine oxidase, MAO, activity), and reduced overall post-feeding activity behaviour.

Mercuric chloride

• accumulated significantly in the brain only at 100 mg/kg
• No mortality or growth reduction
• 100 mg/kg -  significant reduced neural MAO activity and pathological changes (astrocyte proliferation) in the brain, however, neural SOD and GSH-Px enzyme activity, lipid peroxidative products (TBARS), and post feeding behaviour did not differ from controls.