Contents of metals in sediments and macrophytes differed between the locations in an Alpine lake revealing human impacts

Metals stored in sediments of lakes can bioaccumulate through the food chain, posing a risk to the environment and human health. Alpine lakes are supposed to be less affected by pollution than lowland lakes and are vulnerable to any changes and impacts in their catchment areas because of their remote position and ultra-oligotrophic character. Therefore, we used a model Alpine lake, Bohinj (in the Triglav National Park, Julian Alps, Slovenia), to evaluate the load of metals in the abiotic and biotic compartments of the ecosystem, in order to assess the spatial distribution of metals, and finally, to determine whether past and present human activities in the lake’s catchment area may be causing pollution. To this aim, the contents of Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd, Co, Mn, Fe, Zn, Hg and Ni in the sediment, water, and macrophyte samples were determined. The results showed that the average content of some toxic elements, especially in the sediments (Cd 0.52 mg/kgHg 0.03 mg/kg) and plants (Co 0.71 mg/kgCr 5.88 mg/kg) was elevated compared to natural background values. High Hg contents could be connected with natural geological sources, while other elements were probably of anthropogenic origin. High levels of all elements in the eastern part of the lake indicated long-term pollution, which could be a consequence of past iron extraction and military activities in the vicinity. On the other hand, high contents of elements in the water suggests that intensive touristic activities in the area may cause temporal pollution in the summer. The study sheds light on complicated processes governing the distribution of trace metals in Alpine lakes

Cytotoxic effects of halophilic archaea metabolites on ovarian cancer cell lines

Abstract Background Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent and deadly gynaecological cancers, often resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy, the current standard of care. Halophilic microorganisms have been shown to produce a large variety of metabolites, some of which show toxicity to various cancer cell lines. However, none have yet been shown to be active against ovarian cancer cells. Here, we examined the effects of metabolites secreted by the halophilic archaea Halorhabdus rudnickae and Natrinema salaciae on various cancer cell lines, including ovarian cancer cell lines. Results 1H NMR analyses of Hrd. rudnickae and Nnm. salaciae culture supernatants contain a complex mixture of metabolites that differ between species, and even between two different strains of the same species, such as Hrd. rudnickae strains 64T and 66. By using the MTT and the xCELLigence RTCA assays, we found that the secreted metabolites of all three halophilic strains expressed cytotoxicity to the ovarian cancer cell lines, especially A2780, as well as its cisplatin-resistant derivative A2780cis, in a dose-dependent manner. The other tested cell lines A549, HepG2, SK-OV-3 and HeLa were only minimally, or not at all affected by the archaeal metabolites, and this was only seen with the MTT assay. Conclusions The halophilic archaea Hrd. rudnickae and Nnm. salaciae, isolated from a Polish salt mine and Lake Medee in the Mediterranean Sea, respectively, secrete metabolites that are active against ovarian cancer cells, including those that are resistant to cisplatin. This opens potential new possibilities for the treatment of these frequent and deadly gynaecological cancers

Państwo demokratyczne, prawne i socjalne: księga jubileuszowa dedykowana profesorowi Zbigniewowi Antoniemu Maciągowi. T. 3, Studia prawne

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed pape