Critique on the Use of the Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test for First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides

Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics derived from standardized acute oral toxicity testing are used for forensic confirmation of the cause of death in avian mortality incidents and when characterizing FGARs’ risks to free-ranging birds

Critique on the Use of the Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test for First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides

Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics derived from standardized acute oral toxicity testing are used for forensic confirmation of the cause of death in avian mortality incidents and when characterizing FGARs’ risks to free-ranging birds

Nup358 integrates nuclear envelope breakdown with kinetochore assembly

Nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) and release of condensed chromosomes into the cytoplasm are key events in the early stages of mitosis in metazoans. NEBD involves the disassembly of all major structural elements of the nuclear envelope, including nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), and the dispersal of nuclear membrane components. The breakdown process is facilitated by microtubules of the mitotic spindle. After NEBD, engagement of spindle microtubules with chromosome-associated kinetochores leads to chromatid segregation. Several NPC subunits relocate to kinetochores after NEBD. siRNA-mediated depletion of one of these proteins, Nup358, reveals that it is essential for kinetochore function. In the absence of Nup358, chromosome congression and segregation are severely perturbed. At the same time, the assembly of other kinetochore components is strongly inhibited, leading to aberrant kinetochore structure. The implication is that Nup358 plays an essential role in integrating NEBD with kinetochore maturation and function. Mitotic arrest associated with Nup358 depletion further suggests that mitotic checkpoint complexes may remain active at nonkinetochore sites

Repression of GW/P body components and the RNAi microprocessor impacts primary ciliogenesis in human astrocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In most cells, the centriolar component of the centrosome can function as a basal body supporting the formation of a primary cilium, a non-motile sensory organelle that monitors information from the extracellular matrix and relays stimuli into the cell via associated signaling pathways. Defects in the formation and function of primary cilia underlie multiple human diseases and are hallmarks of malignancy. The RNA silencing pathway is involved in the post-transcriptional silencing of > 50% of mRNA that occurs within GW/P bodies. GW/P bodies are found throughout the cytoplasm and previously published live cell imaging data suggested that in a malignant cell type (U2OS), two GW/P bodies reside at the centrosome during interphase. This led us to investigate if a similar relationship exists in primary cells and if the inhibition of the miRNA pathway impairs primary cilium formation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two GW/P bodies as marked by GW182 and hAgo2 colocalized to the basal body of primary human astrocytes as well as human synoviocytes during interphase and specifically with the distal end of the basal body in the pericentriolar region. Since it is technically challenging to examine the two centrosomal GW/P bodies in isolation, we investigated the potential relationship between the global population of GW/P bodies and primary ciliogenesis. Astrocytes were transfected with siRNA directed to GW182 and hAgo2 and unlike control astrocytes, a primary cilium was no longer associated with the centrosome as detected in indirect immunofluorescence assays. Ultrastructural analysis of siRNA transfected astrocytes revealed that knock down of GW182, hAgo2, Drosha and DGCR8 mRNA did not affect the appearance of the earliest stage of ciliogenesis but did prevent the formation and elongation of the ciliary axoneme.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study confirms and extends a previously published report that GW/P bodies reside at the centrosome in U2OS cells and documents that GW/P bodies are resident at the centrosome in diverse non-malignant cells. Further, our study demonstrates that repression of key effector proteins in the post-transcriptional miRNA pathway impairs primary cilium formation.</p

An electrochemical system for efficiently harvesting low-grade heat energy

Efficient and low-cost thermal energy-harvesting systems are needed to utilize the tremendous low-grade heat sources. Although thermoelectric devices are attractive, its efficiency is limited by the relatively low figure-of-merit and low-temperature differential. An alternative approach is to explore thermodynamic cycles. Thermogalvanic effect, the dependence of electrode potential on temperature, can construct such cycles. In one cycle, an electrochemical cell is charged at a temperature and then discharged at a different temperature with higher cell voltage, thereby converting heat to electricity. Here we report an electrochemical system using a copper hexacyanoferrate cathode and a Cu/Cu2+ anode to convert heat into electricity. The electrode materials have low polarization, high charge capacity, moderate temperature coefficients and low specific heat. These features lead to a high heat-to-electricity energy conversion efficiency of 5.7% when cycled between 10 and 60 degrees C, opening a promising way to utilize low-grade heat.open121

Mapping the assembly pathways that specify formation of the trilaminar kinetochore plates in human cells

We report the interactions amongst 20 proteins that specify their assembly to the centromere–kinetochore complex in human cells. Centromere protein (CENP)-A is at the top of a hierarchy that directs three major pathways, which are specified by CENP-C, -I, and Aurora B. Each pathway consists of branches that intersect to form nodes that may coordinate the assembly process. Complementary EM studies found that the formation of kinetochore trilaminar plates depends on the CENP-I/NUF2 branch, whereas CENP-C and Aurora B affect the size, shape, and structural integrity of the plates. We found that hMis12 is not constitutively localized at kinetochores, and that it is not essential for recruiting CENP-I. Our studies also revealed that kinetochores in HeLa cells contain an excess of CENP-A, of which ∼10% is sufficient to promote the assembly of normal levels of kinetochore proteins. We elaborate on a previous model that suggested kinetochores are assembled from repetitive modules (Zinkowski, R.P., J. Meyne, and B.R. Brinkley. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 113:1091–110)