Analysis of Lead in Freshwater Clams from the Embarrass River, Coles County, Illinois

Twenty-two freshwater clams of various genera were collected by hand from two sites on the Embarrass River located at 240 meters and 400 meters downstream from the dam at Lake Charleston and at depths of .4 and 2.5 meters. Ten grams of gill tissue from each clam was prepared by furnace ashing, dissolved in 30 ml. of acid mixture and analyzed for lead content using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The average lead concentration for the clams was 3.60 ppm, while that of the ambient water was 0.33 ppm indicating that these local bivalves show a lead biocentration of about ten times. The levels of lead found, and the proximity of the sites to motor routes, suggest that lead from automobile exhaust fumes finds its way into the River

TXNIP Links Innate Host Defense Mechanisms to Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Retinal Muller Glia under Chronic Hyperglycemia: Implications for Diabetic Retinopathy

Thioredoxin Interacting Protein (TXNIP) mediates retinal inflammation, gliosis, and apoptosis in experimental diabetes. Here, we investigate the temporal response of Muller glia to high glucose (HG) and TXNIP expression using a rat Muller cell line (rMC1) in culture. We examined if HG-induced TXNIP expression evokes host defense mechanisms in rMC1 in response to metabolic abnormalities. HG causes sustained up-regulation of TXNIP (2 h to 5 days), ROS generation, ATP depletion, ER stress, and inflammation. Various cellular defense mechanisms are activated by HG: (i) NLRP3 inflammasome, (ii) ER stress response (sXBP1), (iii) hypoxic-like HIF-1α induction, (iv) autophagy/mitophagy, and (v) apoptosis. We also found in vivo that streptozocin-induced diabetic rats have higher retinal TXNIP and innate immune response gene expression than normal rats. Knock down of TXNIP by intravitreal siRNA reduces inflammation (IL-1β) and gliosis (GFAP) in the diabetic retina. TXNIP ablation in vitro prevents ROS generation, restores ATP level and autophagic LC3B induction in rMC1. Thus, our results show that HG sustains TXNIP up-regulation in Muller glia and evokes a program of cellular defense/survival mechanisms that ultimately lead to oxidative stress, ER stress/inflammation, autophagy and apoptosis. TXNIP is a potential target to ameliorate blinding ocular complications of diabetic retinopathy

Analysis of Lead in Freshwater Clams from the Embarrass River, Coles County, Illinois

Twenty-two freshwater clams of various genera were collected by hand from two sites on the Embarrass River located at 240 meters and 400 meters downstream from the dam at Lake Charleston and at depths of .4 and 2.5 meters. Ten grams of gill tissue from each clam was prepared by furnace ashing, dissolved in 30 ml. of acid mixture and analyzed for lead content using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The average lead concentration for the clams was 3.60 ppm, while that of the ambient water was 0.33 ppm indicating that these local bivalves show a lead biocentration of about ten times. The levels of lead found, and the proximity of the sites to motor routes, suggest that lead from automobile exhaust fumes finds its way into the River