Lenka Šindlerová, RNDr., Ph.D.

Petra Raptová, Mgr.

Veronika Skočková, Mgr.

Pro-inflammatory effects of LPS of cyanobacterial water bloom from freshwater reservoirs in the Czech Republic

Cyanobacterial water blooms (HAB) in freshwater reservoirs represent a serious human health hazard. They might produce high amounts of well-recognized hazardous cyanotoxins like microcystin, cylindrospermopsin, nodularin and others. At the same time, they are the source of endotoxins, lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which represent an important part of the cell wall of cyanobacteria and gram negative (G-) bacteria and are released into the water during cell division and lysis. Among G- bacteria living in HAB, potentially pathogenic strains (e.g. Vibrio, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Acinetobacter) were observed. It is well documented that even short recreational exposure to cyanobacterial HAB during swimming, water-skiing or canoeing can result in gastroenteritis and/or skin irritation.

Gastroenteritis is intestinal inflammation with more or less severe diarrhoea that may be accompanied by haemorrhage. It can be acute or under some circumstances it become chronic, as in case of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), together called intestinal bowel diseases (IBD). Inflammation can be induced by exposure of the intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) to a pathogen or a toxin. During the inflammation, many different cytokines and chemokines are produced with many pro-inflammatory effects like damage of IEC, activation of macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils and T lymphocytes, augmented angiogenesis, increase in permeability of the epithelial monolayer etc.

Further organ system exposed to HAB LPS via recreational activities is epidermis. It is known that contact with cyanobacteria can cause skin irritation. These effects were primarily connected with cyanotoxins, e.g. debromaplysiatoxin and cylindrospermopsin. On the other hand, skin irritation effects of non-toxic cyanobacteria strains in patch test were published. Moreover, there is an evidence in literature that cyanotoxin-free components of cyanobacteria can induce allergic reactions on the skin. These cyanobacterial samples were detoxified by deproteinization, therefore LPS should stay a part of the sample tested and could participate on the effect.

With regard to the fact that in the literature only a little information about biological activity of HAB LPS is available – the relevant studies are often tens of years old, based on animal models and studying HAB from localities remote from the Czech Republic – this project aims to describe effects of HAB LPS from reservoirs in the Czech Republic on the development of intestinal and skin inflammation. LPS from biomasses from the Czech Republic are studied using in vitro human cell models enabling us to describe interactions of epithelial/endodermal cells with immune cells after the exposure.