Cytochrome P450 1 genes in birds : evolutionary relationships and transcription profiles in chicken and Japanese quail embryos

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 6 (2011): e28257, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028257.Cytochrome P450 1 (CYP1) genes are biomarkers for aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) agonists and may be involved in some of their toxic effects. CYP1s other than the CYP1As are poorly studied in birds. Here we characterize avian CYP1B and CYP1C genes and the expression of the identified CYP1 genes and AHR1, comparing basal and induced levels in chicken and quail embryos. We cloned cDNAs of chicken CYP1C1 and quail CYP1B1 and AHR1. CYP1Cs occur in several bird genomes, but we found no CYP1C gene in quail. The CYP1C genomic region is highly conserved among vertebrates. This region also shares some synteny with the CYP1B region, consistent with CYP1B and CYP1C genes deriving from duplication of a common ancestor gene. Real-time RT-PCR analyses revealed similar tissue distribution patterns for CYP1A4, CYP1A5, CYP1B1, and AHR1 mRNA in chicken and quail embryos, with the highest basal expression of the CYP1As in liver, and of CYP1B1 in eye, brain, and heart. Chicken CYP1C1 mRNA levels were appreciable in eye and heart but relatively low in other organs. Basal transcript levels of the CYP1As were higher in quail than in chicken, while CYP1B1 levels were similar in the two species. 3,3′,4,5,5′-Pentachlorobiphenyl induced all CYP1s in chicken; in quail a 1000-fold higher dose induced the CYP1As, but not CYP1B1. The apparent absence of CYP1C1 in quail, and weak expression and induction of CYP1C1 in chicken suggest that CYP1Cs have diminishing roles in tetrapods; similar tissue expression suggests that such roles may be met by CYP1B1. Tissue distribution of CYP1B and CYP1C transcripts in birds resembles that previously found in zebrafish, suggesting that these genes serve similar functions in diverse vertebrates. Determining CYP1 catalytic functions in different species should indicate the evolving roles of these duplicated genes in physiological and toxicological processes.Funding to MEJ and BB was from the Carl Tryggers Stiftelse and The Swedish Research Council Formas. Funding for BRW and JJS was from the United States National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), grants R01ES015912 and P42ES007381 to JJS

An integrated view of data quality in Earth observation

Data quality is a difficult notion to define precisely, and different communities have different views and understandings of the subject. This causes confusion, a lack of harmonization of data across communities and omission of vital quality information. For some existing data infrastructures, data quality standards cannot address the problem adequately and cannot fulfil all user needs or cover all concepts of data quality. In this study, we discuss some philosophical issues on data quality. We identify actual user needs on data quality, review existing standards and specifications on data quality, and propose an integrated model for data quality in the field of Earth observation (EO). We also propose a practical mechanism for applying the integrated quality information model to a large number of datasets through metadata inheritance. While our data quality management approach is in the domain of EO, we believe that the ideas and methodologies for data quality management can be applied to wider domains and disciplines to facilitate quality-enabled scientific research

Transcriptional profiling of rat hypothalamus response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

In some mammals, halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon (HAH) exposure causes wasting syndrome, defined as significant weight loss associated with lethal outcomes. The most potent HAH in causing wasting is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-rho-dioxin (TCDD), which exerts its toxic effects through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Since TCDD toxicity is thought to predominantly arise from dysregulation of AHR-transcribed genes, it was hypothesized that wasting syndrome is a result of to TCDD-induced dysregulation of genes involved in regulation of food-intake. As the hypothalamus is the central nervous systems' regulatory center for food-intake and energy balance. Therefore, mRNA abundances in hypothalamic tissue from two rat strains with widely differing sensitivities to TCDD-induced wasting syndrome: TCDD-sensitive Long-Evans rats and TCDD-resistant Han/Wistar rats, 23 h after exposure to TCDD (100 mu g/kg) or corn oil vehicle. TCDD exposure caused minimal transcriptional dysregulation in the hypothalamus, with only 6 genes significantly altered in Long-Evans rats and 15 genes in Han/Wistar rats. Two of the most dysregulated genes were Cyp1a1 and Nqo1, which are induced by TCDD across a wide range of tissues and are considered sensitive markers of TCDD exposure. The minimal response of the hypothalamic transcriptome to a lethal dose of TCDD at an early time-point suggests that the hypothalamus is not the predominant site of initial events leading to hypophagia and associated wasting. TCDD may affect feeding behaviour via events upstream or downstream of the hypothalamus, and further work is required to evaluate this at the level of individual hypothalamic nuclei and subregions. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.Peer reviewe

Analysis of benzo[a]pyrene metabolites formed by rat hepatic microsomes using high pressure liquid chromatography: optimization of the method

A simple and sensitive method was developed to separate the carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), and six of its oxidation metabolites generated by rat hepatic microsomes enriched with cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1, by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC method, using an acetonitrile/water gradient as mobile phase and UV detection, provided appropriate separation and detection of both mono- and di-hydroxylated metabolites of BaP as well as BaP diones formed by rat hepatic microsomes and the parental BaP. In this enzymatic system, 3-hydroxy BaP, 9-hydroxy BaP, BaP-4,5-dihydrodiol, BaP-7,8-dihydrodiol, BaP-9,10-dihydrodiol and BaP-dione were generated. Among them the mono-hydroxylated BaP metabolite, 3-hydroxy BaP followed by di-hydroxylated BaP products, BaP-7,8-dihydrodiol and BaP-9,10-dihydrodiol, predominated, while BaP-dione was a minor metabolite. This HPLC method will be useful for further defining the roles of the CYP1A1 enzyme with both in vitro and in vivo models in understanding its real role in activation and detoxification of BaP