-
Molecular Biology Reports May 2024Thyroid hormones are primarily responsible for the brain development in perinatal mammals. However, this process can be inhibited by external factors such as...
Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls may affect the thyroid hormone-induced brain development during metamorphosis of Xenopus laevis by disturbing the expression of matrix metalloproteinases.
BACKGROUND
Thyroid hormones are primarily responsible for the brain development in perinatal mammals. However, this process can be inhibited by external factors such as environmental chemicals. Perinatal mammals are viviparous, which makes direct fetal examination difficult.
METHODS
We used metamorphic amphibians, which exhibit many similarities to perinatal mammals, as an experimental system. Therefore, using metamorphic amphibians, we characterized the gene expression of matrix metalloproteinases, which play an important role in brain development.
RESULTS
The expression of many matrix metalloproteinases (mmps) was characteristically induced during metamorphosis. We also found that the expression of many mmps was induced by T and markedly inhibited by hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
CONCLUSION
Overall, our findings suggest that hydroxylated PCBs disrupt normal brain development by disturbing the gene expression of mmps.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Xenopus laevis; Matrix Metalloproteinases; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Metamorphosis, Biological; Thyroid Hormones; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Hydroxylation
PubMed: 38710963
DOI: 10.1007/s11033-024-09555-w -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2024Breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits for both infants and mothers, promoting optimal growth and development while offering protection against various...
Presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and persistent organochlorine pollutants in human Milk: Evaluating their levels, association with Total antioxidant capacity, and risk assessment.
Breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits for both infants and mothers, promoting optimal growth and development while offering protection against various illnesses and diseases. This study investigated the levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), organochlorine pesticides (OCP) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in human milk sampled in Zadar (Croatia). The primary objectives were twofold: firstly, to evaluate the individual impact of each compound on the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) value, and secondly, to assess associated health risks. Notably, this study presents pioneering and preliminary insights into PAH levels in Croatian human milk, contributing to the limited research on PAH in breast milk worldwide. PCB and OCP levels in Croatian human milk were found to be relatively lower compared to worldwide data. Conversely, PAH levels were comparatively higher, albeit with lower detection frequencies. A negative correlation was established between organic contaminant levels and antioxidative capacity, suggesting a potential link between higher antioxidative potential and lower organic contaminant levels. Diagnostic ratio pointed towards traffic emissions as the primary source of the detected PAH. The presence of PAH suggests potential health risk, underscoring the need for further in-depth investigation.
Topics: Milk, Human; Humans; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; Risk Assessment; Croatia; Antioxidants; Female; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Pesticides; Environmental Monitoring; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Adult; Environmental Pollutants
PubMed: 38705305
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172911 -
Environment International May 2024Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), has historically been linked to...
Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), has historically been linked to population collapses in wildlife. Despite international regulations, these legacy chemicals are still currently detected in women of reproductive age, and their levels correlate with reduced ovarian reserve, longer time-to-pregnancy, and higher risk of infertility. However, the specific modes of action underlying these associations remain unclear. Here, we examined the effects of five commonly occurring POPs - hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), 2,3,3',4,4',5-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB156), 2,2',3,4,4',5,5'-heptachlorobiphenyl (PCB180), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) - and their mixture on human ovaries in vitro. We exposed human ovarian cancer cell lines COV434, KGN, and PA1 as well as primary ovarian cells for 24 h, and ovarian tissue containing unilaminar follicles for 6 days. RNA-sequencing of samples exposed to concentrations covering epidemiologically relevant levels revealed significant gene expression changes related to central energy metabolism in the exposed cells, indicating glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid metabolism, and reactive oxygen species as potential shared targets of POP exposures in ovarian cells. Alpha-enolase (ENO1), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), cytochrome C oxidase subunit 4I1 (COX4I1), ATP synthase F1 subunit alpha (ATP5A), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were validated as targets through qPCR in additional cell culture experiments in KGN. In ovarian tissue cultures, we observed significant effects of exposure on follicle growth and atresia as well as protein expression. All POP exposures, except PCB180, decreased unilaminar follicle proportion and increased follicle atresia. Immunostaining confirmed altered expression of LDHA, ATP5A, and GPX4 in the exposed tissues. Moreover, POP exposures modified ATP production in KGN and tissue culture. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the disruption of cellular energy metabolism as a novel mode of action underlying POP-mediated interference of follicle growth in human ovaries.
Topics: Humans; Female; Ovary; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Energy Metabolism; Fluorocarbons; Homeostasis; Cell Line, Tumor; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; Alkanesulfonic Acids; Hexachlorobenzene
PubMed: 38701644
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108710 -
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Jul 2024Persistent organic pollutants pose a great threat to amphibian populations, but information on the bioaccumulation of contaminants in amphibians remains scarce. To...
Persistent organic pollutants pose a great threat to amphibian populations, but information on the bioaccumulation of contaminants in amphibians remains scarce. To examine the tissue distribution and maternal transfer of organic halogenated pollutants (OHPs) in frogs, seven types of tissues from black-spotted frog (muscle, liver, kidney, stomach, intestine, heart, and egg) were collected from an e-waste-polluted area in South China. Among the seven frog tissues, median total OHP concentrations of 2.3 to 9.7 μg/g lipid weight were found (in 31 polychlorinated biphenyl [PCB] individuals and 15 polybrominated diphenyl ether [PBDE], dechlorane plus [syn-DP and anti-DP], bexabromobenzene [HBB], polybrominated biphenyl] PBB153 and -209], and decabromodiphenyl ethane [DBDPE] individuals). Sex-specific differences in contaminant concentration and compound compositions were observed among the frog tissues, and eggs had a significantly higher contaminant burden on the whole body of female frogs. In addition, a significant sex difference in the concentration ratios of other tissues to the liver was observed in most tissues except for muscle. These results suggest that egg production may involve the mobilization of other maternal tissues besides muscle, which resulted in the sex-specific distribution. Different parental tissues had similar maternal transfer mechanisms; factors other than lipophilicity (e.g., molecular size and proteinophilic characteristics) could influence the maternal transfer of OHPs in frogs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1557-1568. © 2024 SETAC.
Topics: Animals; Female; Tissue Distribution; Male; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Environmental Monitoring; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; Anura; China; Ranidae; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 38695729
DOI: 10.1002/etc.5882 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2024Our understanding of the environmental and occupational health implications of pollutants emitted in steel production is still lacking, despite the considerable amount...
Our understanding of the environmental and occupational health implications of pollutants emitted in steel production is still lacking, despite the considerable amount of research devoted to this topic. Given the significance of steel recycling and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many steel factories are adopting electric arc furnace (EAF) technology. The use of a technological system designed for the capture of pollutants emitted through EAF steel production is highly ecological because of its utilization of iron scrap and low investment cost. Despite this, the main issue with the EAF is the environmental impact it poses, specifically the release of pollutants into the air, such as dust and organic substances, chlorinated dioxins and furans, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls and brominated dioxins and furans. As a result, workers in this field have a considerable rate of morbidity. The main challenge for EAFs is to optimize the capture of powders produced during the techno-logical process, both from the EAF and the workplace. A state-of-the art solution for managing pollutants in modern steel manufacturing is highlighted in this paper, featuring a method used in Romania that employs the Best Available Techniques (BAT) reference document for iron and steel production to directly collect pollutants from the EAF. The system included a cylindrical fitting, a heat exchanger to cool the gases and a hood to collect contaminants. In comparison to other ventilation options, this equipment boasts lower investment and lower operational costs because of its effective and minimal air flow. Through the use of cutting-edge technology and progressive strategies, we can move closer toward our objective of a workplace free from injuries in the steel industry.
PubMed: 38688973
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60817-w -
Environmental Research Jul 2024Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake by volume, provides drinking water and aquatic food supplies to over 2.5 million people. However, the lake has been contaminated...
Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake by volume, provides drinking water and aquatic food supplies to over 2.5 million people. However, the lake has been contaminated with recalcitrant pollutants released from surrounding industrial complexes, agriculture, and natural lands, thereby increasing the risk of their bioaccumulation in fish and seals. Yet, a collective analysis of historical concentration data and their bioaccumulation potential as well as what factors drive their accumulation in fish or seals remains largely unknown. We analyzed concentration data from 42 studies collected between 1985 and 2019 in water, sediment, fish, and seals of Lake Baikal. Heavy metals had the highest concentrations in water and biota followed closely by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorines. Among organochlorines, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) showed the highest levels in water, surpassing hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) concentrations, particularly after normalizing to solubility. While naphthalene and phenanthrene exhibited the highest average concentrations among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), their relative concentrations significantly decreased upon solubility normalization. The analysis confirmed that bioconcentration and biomagnification of organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, and heavy metals depend primarily on source strength to drive their concentration in water and secondarily on their chemical characteristics as evidenced by the higher concentrations of low-solubility PCBs and high molecular weight PAHs in water and sediment. The differential biomagnification patterns of Cu, Hg, and Zn compared to Pb are attributed to their distinct sources and bioavailability, with Cu, Hg, and Zn showing more pronounced biomagnification due to prolonged industrial release, in contrast to the declining Pb levels. Dibenzo-p-dioxins were detected in sediment and seals, but not in water or fish compartments. These data highlight the importance of addressing even low concentrations of organic and inorganic pollutants and the need for more consistent and frequent monitoring to ensure the future usability of this and other similar essential natural resources.
Topics: Lakes; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Metals, Heavy; Environmental Monitoring; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Animals; Fishes; Geologic Sediments; Bioaccumulation; Siberia; Caniformia; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PubMed: 38685302
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119035 -
International Journal of Biological... Jun 2024Among biopolymer-based adsorbents, composites in the form of beads have shown promising results in terms of high adsorption capacity and ease of separation from the... (Review)
Review
Among biopolymer-based adsorbents, composites in the form of beads have shown promising results in terms of high adsorption capacity and ease of separation from the effluents. This review addresses the potential of biopolymer-based beads to remediate wastewaters polluted with emerging organic contaminants, for instance dyes, active pharmaceutical ingredients, pesticides, phenols, oils, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls. High adsorption capacities up to 2541.76 mg g for dyes, 392 mg g for pesticides and phenols, 1890.3 mg g for pharmaceuticals, and 537 g g for oils and organic solvents have been reported. The review also attempted to convey to its readers the significance of wastewater treatment through adsorption by providing an overview on decontamination technologies of organic water contaminants. Various preparation methods of biopolymer-based gel beads and adsorption mechanisms involved in the process of decontamination have been summarized and analyzed. Therefore, we believe there is an urge to discuss the current state of the application of biopolymer-based gel beads for the adsorption of organic pollutants from wastewater and future perspectives in this regard since it is imperative to treat wastewater before releasing into freshwater bodies.
Topics: Wastewater; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Adsorption; Biopolymers; Water Purification; Organic Chemicals; Microspheres
PubMed: 38679272
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131759 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Jun 2024Studies suggested that exposure to air pollutants, with endocrine disrupting (ED) properties, have a key role in breast cancer (BC) development. Although the population...
Studies suggested that exposure to air pollutants, with endocrine disrupting (ED) properties, have a key role in breast cancer (BC) development. Although the population is exposed simultaneously to a mixture of multiple pollutants and ED pollutants may act via common biological mechanisms leading to synergic effects, epidemiological studies generally evaluate the effect of each pollutant separately. We aimed to assess the complex effect of exposure to a mixture of four xenoestrogen air pollutants (benzo-[a]-pyrene (BaP), cadmium, dioxin (2,3,7,8-Tétrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin TCDD)), and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB153)) on the risk of BC, using three recent statistical methods, namely weighted quantile sum (WQS), quantile g-computation (QGC) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). The study was conducted on 5222 cases and 5222 matched controls nested within the French prospective E3N cohort initiated in 1990. Annual average exposure estimates to the pollutants were assessed using a chemistry transport model, at the participants' residence address between 1990 and 2011. We found a positive association between the WQS index of the joint effect and the risk of overall BC (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.10, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.03-1.19). Similar results were found for QGC (OR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.03-1.19). Despite the association did not reach statistical significance in the BKMR model, we observed an increasing trend between the joint effect of the four pollutants and the risk of BC, when fixing other chemicals at their median concentrations. BaP, cadmium and PCB153 also showed positive trends in the multi-pollutant mixture, while dioxin showed a modest inverse trend. Despite we found a clear evidence of a positive association between the joint exposure to pollutants and BC risk only from WQS and QGC regression, we observed a similar suggestive trend using BKMR. This study makes a major contribution to the understanding of the joint effects of air pollution.
Topics: Humans; Breast Neoplasms; Female; Air Pollutants; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Environmental Exposure; Endocrine Disruptors; Cadmium; Middle Aged; Bayes Theorem; Benzo(a)pyrene; Aged; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; France; Adult
PubMed: 38679129
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124043 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2024Ocean contamination, particularly from persistent organic pollutants (POPs), remains a significant threat to marine predators that occupy high trophic positions....
Ocean contamination, particularly from persistent organic pollutants (POPs), remains a significant threat to marine predators that occupy high trophic positions. Long-lived procellariform seabirds are apex predators in marine ecosystems and tend to accumulate contaminants. Prolonged exposure to pollutants negatively affects their fitness including reproductive success. Low breeding success may represent a hurdle for the restoration of small and endangered seabird populations, including several highly threatened gadfly petrels. Here we investigated the annual variation (2019 and 2022) in organochlorine pesticide (OCP), polychlorinated biphenyl ether (PCB), polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure in the endangered Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow), and the relationship between female contaminant burden and breeding parameters. We found that petrels were exposed to a wide range of pollutants (33 out of 55 showed measurable levels) with PCBs dominating the blood contaminant profiles in both years. Only 9 compounds were detected in >50 % of the birds. Specifically, among OCPs, p, p'-DDE and hexaclorobenzene were the most frequently detected while fluorene and acenaphthene were the most common PAH. The concentrations of ∑PCBs and ∑POPs were higher in older birds. Furthermore, females with greater contaminant burdens laid eggs with a lower probability of hatching. However, female investment in egg production (size and volume) was unrelated to their blood contaminant load. Overall, this study highlights the presence of a wide range of contaminants in the petrel's food web, and it sheds light on the potential impact of chronic exposure to sub-lethal levels of PCBs on the breeding success of seabirds. We claim that toxicological testing should be a practice integrated in the management of seabirds, particularly of endangered species to monitor how past and present anthropogenic activities impact their conservation status.
Topics: Animals; Endangered Species; Reproduction; Birds; Environmental Monitoring; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; Female; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Pesticides
PubMed: 38679096
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172814 -
International Journal of Molecular... Apr 2024We aimed to explore the relationship of adipose tissue concentrations of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with the risk of endometriosis and the endometriotic...
We aimed to explore the relationship of adipose tissue concentrations of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with the risk of endometriosis and the endometriotic tissue expression profile of genes related to the endometriosis-related epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. This case-control study enrolled 109 women (34 cases and 75 controls) between January 2018 and March 2020. Adipose tissue samples and endometriotic tissues were intraoperatively collected to determine concentrations of nine POPs and the gene expression profiles of 36 EMT-related genes, respectively. Associations of POPs with endometriosis risk were explored with multivariate logistic regression, while the relationship between exposure and gene expression profiles was assessed through Spearman correlation or Mann-Whitney U tests. After adjustment, increased endometriosis risk was associated with -DDT, PCB-180, and ΣPCBs. POP exposure was also associated with reduced gene expression levels of the CLDN7 epithelial marker and increased levels of the ITGB2 mesenchymal marker and a variety of EMT promoters (HMGA1, HOXA10, FOXM1, DKK1, CCR1, TNFRSF1B, RRM2, ANG, ANGPT1, and ESR1). Our findings indicate that exposure to POPs may increase the risk of endometriosis and might have a role in the endometriosis-related EMT development, contributing to the disease onset and progression. Further studies are warranted to corroborate these findings.
Topics: Endometriosis; Humans; Female; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Adult; Environmental Exposure; Case-Control Studies; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Adipose Tissue; Endometrium; Risk Factors
PubMed: 38674005
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084420