Evaluation of neopterin levels and kynurenine pathway in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Background Coronary atherosclerosis is the leading cause of coronary artery disease. Several investigations have indicated that tear-sensitive plaques contain macrophages and T cells. Neopterin is an essential cellular immune response biomarker. The main goal of this study was to see if there were any changes in biomarkers like unconjugated pteridines, neopterin, and biopterin, as well as kynurenine pathway enzymes like indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in tryptophan degradation, in patients with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) caused by angiographic atherosclerosis. Methods High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the amounts of neopterin, biopterin, and creatinine in urine samples, as well as tryptophan and kynurenine in serum samples. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to assess the amounts of neopterin in serum samples. The measured parameters were evaluated between ACS patients and controls. Results The measured levels of neopterin, biopterin and the kynurenine to tryptophan ratio reflecting IDO activity, and the specifically known biomarkers such as cardiac troponin, creatine kinase, myoglobin, and natriuretic peptides are statistically higher in ACS patients compared to control subjects. On the other hand, the measured parameters are inadequate to classify the conventional kinds of ACS, ST-elevation- and non-ST-elevation- myocardial infarction. Conclusions The study found that determining and using neopterin and IDO parameters as biomarkers in individuals with the ACS can support traditional biomarkers. However, it can be concluded that evaluating pteridine biomarkers solely have no privilege to clinical findings in ACS diagnosis and classification

Imunomodulacija i oksidativni stres u radnika u pjeskarenju traper platna: promjene uzrokovane izloženosti silici

Workers in denim sandblasting are at a high risk of developing silicosis, an occupational lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. The development and progress of silicosis is associated with the activation of the immune system and oxidative stress. In the former, interferon-gamma induces both neopterin release and the enzyme indoleamine [2,3]-dioxygenase (IDO) in various cells. The determination of the kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio and neopterin concentration has proven to be an efficient method to monitor the activation status of IDO and cellular immunity. The present study aimed to investigate whether occupational silica exposure leads to any alterations in neopterin levels, tryptophan degradation, and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), agents in the antioxidant defence system. Fifty-five male denim sandblasting workers and twenty-two healthy men as controls were included. Mean neopterin and kynurenine levels, kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio, and SOD activity were higher in subjects with silicosis compared to non-exposed controls (all, p<0.05). Neopterin levels and kynurenine-totryptophan ratios were positively correlated (p<0.05); however, no correlation was observed between length of employment and the measured parameters. Some of the measured parameters were significantly affected by the severity of the pathology. Our results suggest that silica exposure activates the cellular immune response. The increased neopterin levels and tryptophan degradation confirm the possibility of their use as an indicator of cellular immune response.Radnici u pjeskarenju traper platna izloženi su visokom riziku od silikoze, profesionalne plućne bolesti uzrokovane udisanjem čestica silikatne prašine. Razvoj i progresija silikoze povezani su s aktivacijom imunosnog sustava i oksidativnim stresom. Pri aktivaciji imunosnoga sustava, interferon-gama potiče otpuštanje neopterina i enzima indoleamina [2, 3]-dioksigenaze (IDO) u različitim vrstama stanica. Određivanje omjera kinurenina i triptofana te koncentracije neopterina pokazale su se učinkovitim metodama praćenja aktivacijskoga statusa IDO-a i staničnog imuniteta. Ovaj rad istražuje uzrokuje li profesionalna izloženost silici promjene u razinama neopterina, degradaciji triptofana i aktivnosti superoksid dismutaze (SOD) i katalaze (CAT), agenata u antioksidativnom obrambenom sustavu. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 55 muških radnika u pjeskarenju traper platna i 22 zdrava muškarca u kontrolnoj skupini. Srednje vrijednosti razina neopterina i kinurenina, omjera kinurenina i triptofana, te aktivnosti SOD-a bile su više u radnika oboljelih od silikoze nego u kontrolnoj skupini (p<0,05). Razina neopterina i omjer kinurenina i triptofana bile su u pozitivnoj korelaciji (p<0,05). Međutim, korelacija nije uočena između mjerenih vrijednosti i radnog staža. Neke od mjerenih vrijednosti bitno su ovisile o težini patologije. Dobiveni rezultati daju naslutiti da izloženost silici uzrokuje aktivaciju staničnog imunosnog odgovora. Povećane razine neopterina i degradacije triptofana potvrđuju mogućnost njihova korištenja kao pokazatelja staničnog imunosnog odgovora

Toxicity Of Acrylamide And Evaluation Of Its Exposure In Baby Foods

Contaminants are a vast subject area of food safety and quality and can be present in our food chain from raw materials to finished products. Acrylamide, an alpha,beta-unsaturated (conjugated) reactive molecule, can be detected as a contaminant in several foodstuffs including baby foods and infant formulas. It is anticipated that children will generally have intakes that are two to three times those of adults when expressed on a body-weight basis. Though exposure to acrylamide is inevitable, it is necessary to protect infant and children from high exposure. The present review focuses on the several adverse health effects of acrylamide including mutagenicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity, and the possible outcomes of childhood exposure from baby foods and infant formulas.WoSScopu

Occurrence, prevention and limitation of mycotoxins in feeds

There has been a significant concern regarding the potential health risks for humans and animals via foods and feeds that are contaminated with different agents. Particularly, mycotoxin contamination is of great importance as it is widespread and unpreventable. In both foods and feeds, molds produce secondary metabolites called mycotoxins; these are produced generally after the fungi reach their maturity. Depending on the definition used, hundreds of fungal compounds are recognized as mycotoxins. However, the attention is mainly focused on aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumunisins, and zearalenone which are considered the most important threats for human and animal health. Mycotoxin contamination causes a fundamental problem all over the world including developed countries. Additionally, the economic impact of mycotoxins is another global concern on the agricultural markets. These concerns are based on toxicological data, which show that naturally occurring levels of mycotoxins have adverse effects in farm and laboratory animals as well as humans. The diversity of mycotoxin structures induces various toxic effects. Owing to the significant health risks and economic impacts, considerable investigations are being performed to diminish their harmful effects and to prevent their formation. In order to limit their levels, much research has been focused on detecting the mycotoxins in contaminated food and feedstuffs. This review will focus on information about primary mycotoxins, their occurrence, related regulations, prevention and methods of detection within the light of the current literature

Determination of aflatoxin M1 in raw milk samples from Assiut city, Egypt

Aflatoxins are one of the most significant food contaminants produced mainly by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxin M1 (AMF1), the hydrolyzed form and the main metabolite of Aflatoxin B1, is secreted into milk of dairy animals which are consuming aflatoxins contaminated feedstuffs. Searching through the internet database, only general screening methods such as ELISA have been used for detection of the mycotoxin in that area of Upper Egypt. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the occurrence of AFM1 in raw milk samples marketed in Assiut city. A total of 20 raw milk samples were purchased from local shops in Assiut, Upper Egypt. Skimmed milk samples, obtained from raw milk by centrifugation, were passed through Afla M1 immunoaffinity column for clean-up. AFM1 separation and detection was performed by using HPLC- FLD system. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) for AFM1 were 0.008 μg/kg and 0.02 μg/kg, respectively. The results showed that AFM1 is detected in all examined milk samples (100%) and 14 samples (70%) were above the maximum permissible level in the European Union (0.05 μg/kg). The concentrations ranged from 0.02μg/kg to 0.19 μg/kg except only one sample was under limit of quantification. In conclusion, more attention and strict regulations are highly recommended in order to control dairy milk contamination with mycotoxins. This work is financially supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (#014 D06 301 002-620)

Multi-Mycotoxin Occurrence in Maize and Animal Feed from Assiut Governorate, Egypt

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by different species of fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium with a broad range of toxic effects on human and animals. Over the last decade, several analytical methods have been developed for simultaneous detection of different mycotoxins in maize and feed in one run. Surveys of different countries around the world have shown the existence of the aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and zearalenone in maize and animal feed. Relatively less information is available about the co-occurrence of different mycotoxins in Upper Egypt. Moreover, the current regulations in Egypt include only total aflatoxins and aflatoxin B1, 20 μg/kg and 10 µg/kg respectively, for both maize and animal feed. We therefore performed a survey of six mycotoxins, aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, ochratoxin A and zearalenone, in maize (n = 61) and animal feed (n = 17). Multi-mycotoxins immunoaffinity columns were used for clean-up and HPLC-FLD with on-line post-column photochemical derivatization was used for quantification of the mentioned mycotoxins. A solid–liquid extraction has been done before passing the samples through the immunoaffinity columns. The chromatographic separation is based on the publication of Ofitserova et al. (2009). Limits of detection (LOD) were 0.92 µg/kg for ZEA, 0.02 µg/kg for OTA and varied from 0.004 to 0.12 µg/kg for aflatoxins. Limit of quantification (LOQ) were 2.8 µg/kg for ZEA, 0.06 µg/kg for OTA and varied from 0.013 to 0.3 µg/kg for aflatoxins. The mean recovery values were 77%–110% for different concentrations of AFs, OTA and ZEA in spiked maize and feed samples. OTA, AFG1, and AFG2 were under the limit of detections. AFB1 was detected in both maize (n = 15) and feed (n = 8) with only one maize sample above the maximum permissible level set by Egyptian authorities. AFB2 was detected in six maize samples and in one feed with a maximum value of 0.05 µg/kg. ZEA was detected only in feed samples (n = 4) with a maximum value of 3.5 µg/kg. In conclusion, further surveys are highly recommended in order to establish database for mycotoxins occurrence in Egypt to minimize the possible health risks in animals and human. Acknowledgements: this work is financially supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (#014 D06 301 002-620)

Assessment of Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of Known Antioxidants Compared to Neopterin

Free radicals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) are constantly formed in the human body. Free-radical mechanisms have been implicated in the pathology of several human diseases. Free radicals are generated physiologically during immune activation. Neopterin, an early marker of immune activation is released from monocyte-macrophages with the induction of interferon-gamma. Its biological levels are known to be increased in different types of pathologies including cancer. Neopterin is also known to be related with oxidative stress. In this study, the antioxidant effect of neopterin and silymarin, melatonin and homocystein was evaluated by NO, SO, and DPPH radicals scavenging assays. Possible cytotoxic effects of the compounds were evaluated in 3 different cell lines by MTT and LDH assays. According to the results all the compounds have the radical scavenging activities. Therefore, none of them have a significant cytotoxic potential. However, only neopterin has a significant proliferative effect at very high concentrations. The results should be confirmed and reevaluated by in vivo and in vitro experiments

Safety assessment of essential and toxic metals in infant formulas

The aim of this study was to assess toxic metal (Cd, Pb and Al) contamination and levels of three essential trace elements (Mn, Cr and Co) in 63 infant formulas. In addition, the levels of these metals in the study samples were compared with the acceptable limits of toxic heavy metals and the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) of essential trace elements. According to our results, the toxic metal levels measured in the formulas were within the acceptable limits, with the exception of Al levels in 8 of the 63 samples. In 16 samples, Mn levels exceeded 600 mu g/day, and the Cr content in 7 samples was higher than 5.5 mu g/day, these amounts being the adequate intake levels for infants. Cobalt levels in 10 formulas were higher than the RDA. In view of these findings, which indicate that metal levels in infant formulas are generally much higher than those found in breast milk, breast milk should be preferred for infant feeding. Moreover, since infants are potentially more susceptible to metals, infant foods should be monitored regularly and checked for contamination by toxic metals as well as for levels of essential trace elements