Toward sustainable environmental quality : priority research questions for Europe

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals have been established to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals will require a healthy and productive environment. An understanding of the impacts of chemicals which can negatively impact environmental health is therefore essential to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, current research on and regulation of chemicals in the environment tend to take a simplistic view and do not account for the complexity of the real world, which inhibits the way we manage chemicals. There is therefore an urgent need for a step change in the way we study and communicate the impacts and control of chemicals in the natural environment. To do this requires the major research questions to be identified so that resources are focused on questions that really matter. We present the findings of a horizon-scanning exercise to identify research priorities of the European environmental science community around chemicals in the environment. Using the key questions approach, we identified 22 questions of priority. These questions covered overarching questions about which chemicals we should be most concerned about and where, impacts of global megatrends, protection goals, and sustainability of chemicals; the development and parameterization of assessment and management frameworks; and mechanisms to maximize the impact of the research. The research questions identified provide a first-step in the path forward for the research, regulatory, and business communities to better assess and manage chemicals in the natural environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;9999:1-15

Effects of angiopoietin-2 on endothelial progenitor cells in acute murine ischemic kidney injury

The purpose of this study was to evaluate, whether Angiopoetin-2 (Ang-2) can increase the nephroprotective potential of early endothelial outgrowth cells (eEOCs) in acute murine ischemic kidney injury (AKI). Previously published results showed renoprotective effects of eEOCs in AKI. Ang-2 on the other hand is critically involved in mediating angiogenesis. Therefore, syngeneic murine eEOCs were pretreated with Ang-2. The cells were incubated for 1 hour with a concentration of 400 ng/ml or 800 ng/ml of Ang-2. In all experiments, male 8-12 week-old C57Bl/6N mice were subjected to a renal ischemia of 40 minutes by occluding the left kidney. The solutions of the different experimental groups had to be injected into the vessel of the contralateral, right kidney after these 40 minutes and the removal of the occlusion of the left kidney. Finally, the right kidney was removed. These steps had to be done within 2 minutes and ensured, that the renal function was now done only by the pre-suffered left kidney. The renal function and its morphology were analyzed after 48 hours. The results showed that Ang-2 modulates eEOCs in AKI in a dose-dependent way. While an Ang-2 concentration of 400 ng/ml significantly stimulated the cells´ effectiveness in AKI, doubelling the concentration (800 ng/ml) dramatically aggravated postischemic renal dysfunction. The study points towards potential dangers of cell-based therapies of AKI.2014-06-0