Re: Neurotoxicity of Fungal Volatile Organic Compounds

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Another great find, Jeanine!

Sharon K

In a message dated 12/23/2010 7:44:56 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,

jeaninem660@... writes:

Neurotoxicity of Fungal Volatile Organic Compounds in Drosophila

melanogaster

Arati A. Inamdar1, Prakash Masurekar and Joan Wennstrom

+ Author Affiliations

Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers, The State University

of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901

1To whom correspondence should be addressed at 59, Dudley Road, Foran

Hall, Room 291D, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ

08901. Fax: (732) 932-9441. E-mail: _inamdar@..._

(mailto:inamdar@...) .

Received February 18, 2010.

Accepted July 6, 2010.

Abstract

Many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are found in indoor environment as

products of microbial metabolism. In damp indoor environments, fungi are

associated with poor air quality. Some epidemiological studies have suggested

that microbial VOCs have a negative impact on human health. Our study was

designed to provide a reductionist approach toward studying fungal VOC–

mediated toxicity using the inexpensive model organism, Drosophila

melanogaster, and pure chemical standards of several important fungal VOCs. Low

concentrations of the following known fungal VOCs, 0.1% of 1-octen-3-ol and

0.5%

of 2-octanone; 2,5 dimethylfuran; 3-octanol; and trans-2-octenal, caused

locomotory defects and changes in green fluorescent protein (GFP)- and

antigen-labeled dopaminergic neurons in adult D. melanogaster. Locomotory

defects

could be partially rescued with L-DOPA. Ingestion of the antioxidant,

vitamin E, improved the survival span and delayed the VOC-mediated changes in

dopaminergic neurons, indicating that the VOC-mediated toxicity was due, in

part, to generation of reactive oxygen species.

Key words

dopamineDrosophila melanogasterfungiParkinson's diseasesick building

syndromevolatile organic compounds

_http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/117/2/418.abstract_

(http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/117/2/418.abstract)