Cosmetics: toxicity evaluation and legal framework

Treballs Finals de Grau de Farmàcia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, 2015. Tutor: Joan Maria Llobet Mallafré.[eng] The European Regulation (EC 1223/2009) on cosmetic products, that repeals the previous Council Directive (76/768/ECC), presents the legal framework that cosmetics have to comply in order to be in the European Union (EU) market. The bases of this Regulation are an electronic and single database that contains all the commercialised products and the figure of a responsible person. That person has the obligation to do a Product Information File containing all the important information including the toxicological assays; and those cannot be longer done on animals. The main goal of this Regulation is to guarantee the safety of the consumer and ensure the functioning of an internal market within the EU. The methods used are: an evaluation through inquiries to Technical Directors of various labs, interviews with experts and an exhaustive review of the previous and actual Regulations. The aims are to assess: the opinion of the cosmetic sector, the ban on animal testing, the implications of the new Regulation on the market and its implementation. To conclude, this Regulation is still under a process of implementation but with the effort of all the involved parts in a near future it will be very beneficial. The main purpose of it all is the marketing of safe cosmetic products that do not endanger human health.[cat] El reglament europeu (CE 1223/2009) de productes cosmètics i que va derogar l’anterior directiva comunitària (76/768/CEE), mostra el marc legal que han de complir tots els cosmètics per ser comercialitzats a la Unió Europea (UE). Els pilars del reglament són una base de dades electrònica i única on es recullen tots els productes comercialitzats i, per una altra banda, una persona responsable amb la obligació d’elaborar l’Expedient d’Informació del Producte. Aquest darrer, és un dossier on ha de constar tota la informació rellevant inclosos els assaigs toxicològics, que ja no es poden fer en animals. La finalitat principal de la legislació actual és garantir la seguretat del consumidor i permetre el funcionament d’un mercat interior dins la UE. La metodologia del treball consta d’una avaluació amb enquestes als Directors Tècnics de varis laboratoris, una entrevista a experts i una revisió exhaustiva de la legislació actual i prèvia. Els objectius són veure la opinió del sector, les implicacions de la nova llei al mercat, la implementació d’aquesta i la prohibició d’experimentar amb animals per fer assaigs en cosmètics. Per concloure, la regulació s’està encara implementant a nivell del sector i amb l’esforç de totes les parts implicades en un futur serà molt beneficiosa. Sempre tenint en compte que, l’objectiu principal de la industria cosmètica és la comercialització de productes que no posin en perill la salut humana

Investigation of gene–environment interactions in relation to tic severit

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with involvement of genetic and environmental factors. We investi gated genetic loci previously implicated in Tourette syndrome and associated disorders in interaction with pre- and perinatal adversity in relation to tic severity using a case-only (N=518) design. We assessed 98 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) selected from (I) top SNPs from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of TS; (II) top SNPs from GWASs of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-defcit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD); (III) SNPs previously implicated in candidate-gene studies of TS; (IV) SNPs previously implicated in OCD or ASD; and (V) tagging SNPs in neurotransmitter-related candidate genes. Linear regression models were used to examine the main efects of the SNPs on tic severity, and the interaction efect of these SNPs with a cumulative pre- and perinatal adversity score. Replication was sought for SNPs that met the threshold of signifcance (after correcting for multiple testing) in a rep lication sample (N=678). One SNP (rs7123010), previously implicated in a TS meta-analysis, was signifcantly related to higher tic severity. We found a gene–environment interaction for rs6539267, another top TS GWAS SNP. These fndings were not independently replicated. Our study highlights the future potential of TS GWAS top hits in gene–environment studies

Performance and application of an open source automated magnetic optical density meter for analyzing magnetotactic bacteria

We present a spectrophotometer (optical density meter) combined with electromagnets dedicated to the analysis of magnetotactic bacteria. We have ensured that our system, called MagOD, can be easily reproduced by providing the source of the 3D prints for the housing, electronic designs, circuit board layouts, and microcontroller software. We compare the performance of this novel system to existing adapted commercial spectrophotometers. In addition, we demonstrate its use by analyzing the absorbance of magnetotactic bacteria as a function of their orientation with respect to the light path and their speed of reorientation after the field has been rotated by 90o. We continuously monitored the development of a culture of magnetotactic bacteria over a period of five days, and measured the development of their velocity distribution over a period of one hour. Even though this dedicated spectrophotometer is relatively simple to construct and cost-effective, a range of magnetic field-dependent parameters can be extracted from suspensions of magnetotactic bacteria. Therefore, this instrument will help the magnetotactic research community to understand and apply this intriguing micro-organism

Reactive oxygen species metabolism and plant-fungal interactions

Fungal interactions with plants can involve specific morphogenetic developments to access host cells, the suppression of plant defenses, and the establishment of a feeding lifestyle that nourishes the colonizer often—but not always—at the expense of the host. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism is central to the infection process, and the stage-specific production and/or neutralization of ROS is critical to the success of the colonization process. ROS metabolism during infection is dynamic—sometimes seemingly contradictory—and involves endogenous and exogenous sources. Yet, intriguingly, molecular decision-making involved in the spatio-temporal control of ROS metabolism is largely unknown. When also considering that ROS demands are similar between pathogenic and beneficial fungal-plant interactions despite the different outcomes, the intention of our review is to synthesize what is known about ROS metabolism and highlight knowledge gaps that could be hindering the discovery of novel means to mediate beneficial plant-microbe interactions at the expense of harmful plant-microbe interactions

Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter and protein expression of the chemokine Eotaxin-1 in colorectal cancer patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies suggest that chemokines (chemotactic cytokines) promote and regulate neoplastic progression including metastasis and angiogenesis. The chemokine eotaxin-1 is a powerful eosinophil attractant but also exerts chemotaxis of other leukocytes. Eotaxin-1 has been implicated in gastrointestinal disorders and may play an important role in colorectal mucosal immunity.</p> <p>Patients and methods</p> <p>The objective of this study was to assess the role of eotaxin-1 in colorectal cancer (CRC). Levels of eotaxin-1 protein in CRC tissues (n = 86) and paired normal mucosa were compared after determination by ELISA. Plasma eotaxin-1 levels from CRC patients (n = 67) were also compared with controls (n = 103) using the same method. Moreover, a TaqMan system was used to evaluate the -384A>G eotaxin-1 gene variant in CRC patients (n = 241) and in a control group (n = 253).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eotaxin-1 protein levels in colorectal tumours were significantly (P < 0.0001) higher than in normal tissue. Immunohistochemistry revealed eotaxin-1 expression in stromal cells such as fibroblasts and leukocytes of the CRC tissue. The plasma eotaxin-1 level in CRC patients was lower compared with controls (P < 0.0001). Patients with tumours classified as Dukes' stage B and C had lower levels than patients with tumours in Dukes' stage A. We found no difference in genotype distribution but noted a difference regarding allele distribution (P = 0.036) and a dominance of allele G in rectal cancer patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The up-regulated eotaxin-1 protein expression in cancer tissue may reflect an eotaxin-1 mediated angiogenesis and/or a recruitment of leukocytes with potential antitumourigenic role. We noticed a dominance of the G allele in rectal cancer patients compared with colon cancer patients that was independent of eotaxin-1 expression.</p