Cd, Pb and Hg Biomonitoring in Fish of the Mediterranean Region and Risk Estimations on Fish Consumption

Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) are toxic metals with increasing interest due to their tendency to bioaccumulate in fish tissue which may pose a threat to human health via fish consumption. This review of the recent literature on Cd, Pb, Hg levels summarizes data of fish biomonitoring studies in the Mediterranean Sea in order to determine potential risks due to dietary intake of metals. The analytical methods applied are described, with Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy being the most popular. Most of the literature reviewed is focused on the Eastern Mediterranean. Results from the studies indicate that metals mostly accumulate in liver, followed by muscle. Although there are few studies reporting metal levels in fish exceeding the maximum residue levels (MRLs), the bulk of the studies cite levels below the MRLs. The hazard index (HI) of fish consumption, namely the ratio of estimated weekly intake to provisional tolerable weekly intake (EWI/PTWI) was estimated for adult consumers and no risk emerged. The EWI/PTWI ratios of lead and mercury for Italy (0.14 and 0.22 respectively) represent the highest HI levels estimated. In view of maximizing the benefits while minimizing the risks of fish consumption, a more detailed fish-specific database on intakes for consumers is required and extended bimonitoring in as many regions as possible

Effects of stanozolol on apoptosis mechanisms and oxidative stress in rat cardiac tissue

Stanozolol is a widely used 17 alpha-alkylated anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) derivative. Despite stanozolol's adverse effects, its effect on oxidative stress parameters and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway is not clearly defined. In our study, thirty four male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups as control (C), vehicle control (VC), steroid (ST), vehicle control-exercise (VCE), and steroid-exercise (STE). Animals were subcutaneously administered stanozolol 5 mg/kg in steroid groups and propylene glycol 1 ml/kg in the vehicle control groups. On the 28th day-after sacrification, oxidative stress (MDA, GSH, PC, SOD, CAT) and apoptosis parameters (TUNEL, Cytochrome-c) in cardiac tissue were evaluated. Also, blood vessel morphology of cardiac tissue was evaluated with Verhoeff-van Giesen staining. It has been demonstrated that stanozolol administration triggers apoptosis by using TUNEL assay and cytochrome-c immunohistochemical staining intensity, while this effect is significantly reduced in the presence of exercise. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that stanozolol administration induces apoptosis with increasing PC and CAT levels, while GSH, MDA and SOD parameters do not reveal any significant change. Exercise has a protective role in stanozolol induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. According to Verhoeff-van Giesen staining results for blood vessel morphology assessment, it has been seen that exercise has a protective role on cardiac blood vessels. This mechanism needs further investigations with long term exposure studies for clarifying possible pathways

How Does Infection with Human Papillomavirus 16 and 18 Impact on DNA Damage and Repair in Cervical Cells and Peripheral Blood?

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide and a prime cause of cervical cancer. The HPV DNA is detected in approximately 80-90% of all cervical cancers, with HPV 16 and 18 being the high risk conferring human carcinogens. DNA damage and diminished DNA repair mechanisms are potential biological surrogates of HPV infection that warrant further research in different tissues and populations. Notably, we do not know the extent to which the high risk HPV 16 and 18 differentially affect cervical cells versus other systems such as peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). We evaluated DNA damage and repair in women who tested positive for HPV 16 or HPV 18 and healthy control women without HPV 16 or HPV 18 infection. We found that the DNA damage as measured by the Comet assay was markedly greater in cervical cells of women with HPV 16 (mean: 8.1 as% DNA in tail, 95% CI: 7.6-8.7) or HPV 18 infection (mean: 9.6, 95% CI: 8.9-10.2) than controls (mean: 6.7, 95% CI: 6.2-7.4) (p0.05). We observed, however, the DNA repair capacity, as measured by the X-ray induced challenge (XRC) assay, was significantly impaired in PBLs from women with HPV 16 or 18 infection compared to controls (p<0.05). This is the first comparative study, to the best of our knowledge, suggesting that the cervical swab cells might be better suited than peripheral lymphocytes as biosamples for detection of HPV 16 or 18 biological effects on DNA damage. In addition, these findings suggest that the Comet assay performed only in PBLs may potentially lead to false negative diagnosis of DNA damage. Taken together, these observations contribute to development of future diagnostic innovation and precision sampling strategies for robust detection of the biological effects of HPV 16 or 18 in women. We conclude by a brief discussion of implications for HPV clinical diagnostics and precision medicine innovation

CYP2D6 haplotypes with enhancer single-nucleotide polymorphism rs5758550 and rs16947 (*2 allele): implications for CYP2D6 genotyping panels

Introduction CYP2D6 metabolizes similar to 25% of all clinically used drugs, with numerous genetic polymorphisms affecting enzyme activity and drug response. Clinical utility of current CYP2D6 genotyping is partially compromised the unresolved complex haplotype structure of the CYP2D6 locus. We have identified a distal enhancer single-nucleotide polymorphism rs5758550 that robustly increases CYP2D6 expression, whereas rs16947 (CYP2D6*2), previously considered inert, reduces correct mRNA splicing and expression, thereby affecting presumed activity of other alleles on the *2 haplotype

Assessment of Genotoxic Damage in Nurses Occupationally Exposed to Anaesthetic Gases or Antineoplastic Drugs by the Comet Assay

Sardas, Semra/0000-0001-5456-8636; Ozcagli, Eren/0000-0003-3472-1693WOS: 000266798100012PubMed: 19305118

Celastrol pretreatment as a therapeutic option against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

Celastrol is a natural bioactive compound extracted from the medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. It exhibits immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug in the treatment of a wide range of tumors. Although very effective therapeutically, it can cause nephrotoxicity leading to dose reduction or discontinuation of treatment. This study aims to clarify the therapeutic potential of celastrol in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. The possible protective effects of celastrol pretreatment against cisplatin-induced oxidative stress and genotoxicity were investigated. A rat kidney epithelial cell line NRK-52E was pretreated with the desired concentrations of celastrol (200 nM, 100 nM, and 50 nM) for 24 h. The cells were treated with 50 mu M cisplatin for a further 24 h to see whether cisplatin caused the same or less toxicity compared to the vehicle control group. Alkaline comet assay was performed for genotoxicity assessment. Genotoxicity evaluation revealed that celastrol caused a statistically significant reduction in DNA damage. Oxidative stress parameters were evaluated by measuring the glutathione (GSH) and protein carbonyl (PC) levels and also by measuring the enzyme activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes. Celastrol pretreatment increased the GSH content of the cells and ameliorated the protein carbonylation level. Likewise, celastrol pretreatment improved the GR and CAT activities. However, no significant difference was observed in GPx and SOD activities. In the light of these findings, celastrol treatment could be a therapeutic option to reduce cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Further studies are needed for the clarification of its therapeutic potential

Determination of cytotoxic, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of some wild mushroom species

Abstract: In the performed study of methanol extraction of wild edible mushroom species; Agaricus arvensis, Agaricus campestris, Armillaria mellea, Fomes fomentarius, Coprinus micaceus, Coriolus versicolor and Lactarius deliciosus were examined for screening their cytotoxic, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity. Phenolic acid composition of mushrooms was also analysed. L. deliciosus and F. fomentarius were generally showed the highest activities at antioxidant test systems (metal chelating, superoxide anion radical scavenging, total antioxidant, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and reducing power activity tests). The highest activities at antimicrobial activity displayed by A. arvensis and as 18 ± 0.8 against PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT The paper emphasises, anticancer, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity and phenolic acid composition of wild mushrooms collected from nature. Especially nowadays, antibiotic resistance threatens effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. So, this event triggers to searching alternative therapeutic medicines. Our study results showed us that mushrooms have got promising potential at this area. But further studies should be done to characterise specifically effective molecules. to Staphylococcus aureus. The best IC 50 values of mushroom methanol extracts at anticancer activities on HeLa and NRK-52E were 7.09 and 18.23 mg/mL exhibited by C. micaceus and A. campestris, respectively. The highest butyrylcholinesterase activity exhibited by L. deliciosus. Total amount of phenolic acids were found as 1,224.70 mg/kg at L. deliciosus

Determination of cytotoxic, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of some wild mushroom species

In the performed study of methanol extraction of wild edible mushroom species; Agaricus arvensis, Agaricus campestris, Armillaria mellea, Fomes fomentarius, Coprinus micaceus, Coriolus versicolor and Lactarius deliciosus were examined for screening their cytotoxic, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity. Phenolic acid composition of mushrooms was also analysed. L. deliciosus and F. fomentarius were generally showed the highest activities at antioxidant test systems (metal chelating, superoxide anion radical scavenging, total antioxidant, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and reducing power activity tests). The highest activities at antimicrobial activity displayed by A. arvensis and as 18 ± 0.8 against to Staphylococcus aureus. The best IC50 values of mushroom methanol extracts at anticancer activities on HeLa and NRK-52E were 7.09 and 18.23 mg/mL exhibited by C. micaceus and A. campestris, respectively. The highest butyrylcholinesterase activity exhibited by L. deliciosus. Total amount of phenolic acids were found as 1,224.70 mg/kg at L. deliciosus