Fundamental Toxicological Sciences

Paper Details

Fundamental Toxicological Sciences
Vol. 6 No. 9 December 13, 2019 p.359-366
Original Article
Phospholipid and Triglyceride keep vortex-dispersed sulfur mustard analog as undissolved droplets which induce necrosis from nearby cells via declining mitochondrial membrane potential
  • Zhongmin Zou (Department of Chemical Defense, School of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, China / zmzou@tmmu.edu.cn)
Feng Ye 1) , Guorong Dan 1) , Qinya Zeng 2) , Mingliang Chen 1) , Yuanpeng Zhao 1) , Jin Cheng 1) , Yan Sai 1) , Jiqing Zhao 1) , Zhongmin Zou 1)
1) Department of Chemical Defense, School of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, China , 2) Department of Anesthesiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Army Medical University, China
Keywords: CEES droplets, Phospholipid, Triglyceride, Necrosis, Mitochondrial membrane potential
Abstracts

SM (Sulfur mustard) is an oily, hydrophobic, and lipophilic chemical agent that damages cells with intricate patterns. CEES (2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide soluble) is a standard SM analog commonly employed in the toxicity mechanism study. To obtain ideal results in vitro, researchers should disperse CEES well in the medium, avoiding the presence of undissolved droplets. However, such a purpose is not easy to reach under the conventional solution preparation, and the information about droplet formation and function is little available. Here, we showed that phospholipid and triglyceride, two essential components of serum lipids, could prevent CEES from dissolving in water after vortex, which kept partial CEES as small droplets. By detecting CEES level, we proved that residual droplets slowed CEES hydrolysis and conversion. Under the microscope, CEES droplets were observed to degrade and diffuse with time to induce the necrosis and mitochondrial membrane potential decline from nearby cells. In conclusion, the damage pattern of CEES droplets is quite different from that of dissolved CEES, and a low level of phospholipid and triglyceride is beneficial for preventing droplets formation in preparing CEES solution.