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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2020Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) are particles within the size range from 1 to 1000 nm and can be loaded with active compounds entrapped within or surface-adsorbed onto the... (Review)
Review
Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) are particles within the size range from 1 to 1000 nm and can be loaded with active compounds entrapped within or surface-adsorbed onto the polymeric core. The term "nanoparticle" stands for both nanocapsules and nanospheres, which are distinguished by the morphological structure. Polymeric NPs have shown great potential for targeted delivery of drugs for the treatment of several diseases. In this review, we discuss the most commonly used methods for the production and characterization of polymeric NPs, the association efficiency of the active compound to the polymeric core, and the in vitro release mechanisms. As the safety of nanoparticles is a high priority, we also discuss the toxicology and ecotoxicology of nanoparticles to humans and to the environment.
Topics: Animals; Drug Carriers; Drug Delivery Systems; Ecotoxicology; Humans; Nanoparticles; Polymers
PubMed: 32824172
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25163731 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2020Nickel is a transition element extensively distributed in the environment, air, water, and soil. It may derive from natural sources and anthropogenic activity. Although... (Review)
Review
Nickel is a transition element extensively distributed in the environment, air, water, and soil. It may derive from natural sources and anthropogenic activity. Although nickel is ubiquitous in the environment, its functional role as a trace element for animals and human beings has not been yet recognized. Environmental pollution from nickel may be due to industry, the use of liquid and solid fuels, as well as municipal and industrial waste. Nickel contact can cause a variety of side effects on human health, such as allergy, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, lung fibrosis, lung and nasal cancer. Although the molecular mechanisms of nickel-induced toxicity are not yet clear, mitochondrial dysfunctions and oxidative stress are thought to have a primary and crucial role in the toxicity of this metal. Recently, researchers, trying to characterize the capability of nickel to induce cancer, have found out that epigenetic alterations induced by nickel exposure can perturb the genome. The purpose of this review is to describe the chemical features of nickel in human beings and the mechanisms of its toxicity. Furthermore, the attention is focused on strategies to remove nickel from the environment, such as phytoremediation and phytomining.
Topics: Animals; Biodegradation, Environmental; Ecotoxicology; Environmental Health; Humans; Industrial Waste; Nickel; Soil Pollutants
PubMed: 31973020
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17030679 -
Toxicology Nov 2017Mitochondrial dynamics are regulated by two sets of opposed processes: mitochondrial fusion and fission, and mitochondrial biogenesis and degradation (including... (Review)
Review
Mitochondrial dynamics are regulated by two sets of opposed processes: mitochondrial fusion and fission, and mitochondrial biogenesis and degradation (including mitophagy), as well as processes such as intracellular transport. These processes maintain mitochondrial homeostasis, regulate mitochondrial form, volume and function, and are increasingly understood to be critical components of the cellular stress response. Mitochondrial dynamics vary based on developmental stage and age, cell type, environmental factors, and genetic background. Indeed, many mitochondrial homeostasis genes are human disease genes. Emerging evidence indicates that deficiencies in these genes often sensitize to environmental exposures, yet can also be protective under certain circumstances. Inhibition of mitochondrial dynamics also affects elimination of irreparable mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and transmission of mtDNA mutations. We briefly review the basic biology of mitodynamic processes with a focus on mitochondrial fusion and fission, discuss what is known and unknown regarding how these processes respond to chemical and other stressors, and review the literature on interactions between mitochondrial toxicity and genetic variation in mitochondrial fusion and fission genes. Finally, we suggest areas for future research, including elucidating the full range of mitodynamic responses from low to high-level exposures, and from acute to chronic exposures; detailed examination of the physiological consequences of mitodynamic alterations in different cell types; mechanism-based testing of mitotoxicant interactions with interindividual variability in mitodynamics processes; and incorporating other environmental variables that affect mitochondria, such as diet and exercise.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; DNA Damage; DNA, Mitochondrial; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Ecotoxicology; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Pollutants; Humans; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial Dynamics; Risk Assessment; Time Factors
PubMed: 28789970
DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2017.07.019 -
Archives of Toxicology Nov 2022Robust and efficient processes are needed to establish scientific confidence in new approach methodologies (NAMs) if they are to be considered for regulatory... (Review)
Review
Robust and efficient processes are needed to establish scientific confidence in new approach methodologies (NAMs) if they are to be considered for regulatory applications. NAMs need to be fit for purpose, reliable and, for the assessment of human health effects, provide information relevant to human biology. They must also be independently reviewed and transparently communicated. Ideally, NAM developers should communicate with stakeholders such as regulators and industry to identify the question(s), and specified purpose that the NAM is intended to address, and the context in which it will be used. Assessment of the biological relevance of the NAM should focus on its alignment with human biology, mechanistic understanding, and ability to provide information that leads to health protective decisions, rather than solely comparing NAM-based chemical testing results with those from traditional animal test methods. However, when NAM results are compared to historical animal test results, the variability observed within animal test method results should be used to inform performance benchmarks. Building on previous efforts, this paper proposes a framework comprising five essential elements to establish scientific confidence in NAMs for regulatory use: fitness for purpose, human biological relevance, technical characterization, data integrity and transparency, and independent review. Universal uptake of this framework would facilitate the timely development and use of NAMs by the international community. While this paper focuses on NAMs for assessing human health effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals, many of the suggested elements are expected to apply to other types of chemicals and to ecotoxicological effect assessments.
Topics: Animals; Ecotoxicology; Humans; Pesticides; Research Design; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 35987941
DOI: 10.1007/s00204-022-03365-4 -
Marine Pollution Bulletin Aug 2014
Topics: Ecotoxicology; Environmental Pollution; Water Pollution
PubMed: 24793780
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.023 -
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge... Aug 2022Animal behaviour is remarkably sensitive to disruption by chemical pollution, with widespread implications for ecological and evolutionary processes in contaminated... (Review)
Review
Animal behaviour is remarkably sensitive to disruption by chemical pollution, with widespread implications for ecological and evolutionary processes in contaminated wildlife populations. However, conventional approaches applied to study the impacts of chemical pollutants on wildlife behaviour seldom address the complexity of natural environments in which contamination occurs. The aim of this review is to guide the rapidly developing field of behavioural ecotoxicology towards increased environmental realism, ecological complexity, and mechanistic understanding. We identify research areas in ecology that to date have been largely overlooked within behavioural ecotoxicology but which promise to yield valuable insights, including within- and among-individual variation, social networks and collective behaviour, and multi-stressor interactions. Further, we feature methodological and technological innovations that enable the collection of data on pollutant-induced behavioural changes at an unprecedented resolution and scale in the laboratory and the field. In an era of rapid environmental change, there is an urgent need to advance our understanding of the real-world impacts of chemical pollution on wildlife behaviour. This review therefore provides a roadmap of the major outstanding questions in behavioural ecotoxicology and highlights the need for increased cross-talk with other disciplines in order to find the answers.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Behavior, Animal; Biological Evolution; Ecotoxicology; Environment
PubMed: 35233915
DOI: 10.1111/brv.12844 -
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Jun 2010The emergence of analytical tools for high-throughput screening of biomolecules has revolutionized the way in which toxicologists explore the impact of chemicals or... (Review)
Review
The emergence of analytical tools for high-throughput screening of biomolecules has revolutionized the way in which toxicologists explore the impact of chemicals or other stressors on organisms. One of the most developed and routinely applied high-throughput analysis approaches is transcriptomics, also often referred to as gene expression profiling. The transcriptome represents all RNA molecules, including the messenger RNA (mRNA), which constitutes the building blocks for translating DNA into amino acids to form proteins. The entirety of mRNA is a mirror of the genes that are actively expressed in a cell or an organism at a given time. This in turn allows one to deduce how organisms respond to changes in the external environment. In this article we explore how transcriptomics is currently applied in ecotoxicology and highlight challenges and trends.
Topics: Animals; Ecotoxicology; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
PubMed: 20369230
DOI: 10.1007/s00216-010-3662-3 -
International Journal of Molecular... Dec 2023Humans and animals may be exposed on a continuous daily basis to a mixture of environmental contaminants that may act on several organ systems through differing...
Humans and animals may be exposed on a continuous daily basis to a mixture of environmental contaminants that may act on several organ systems through differing mechanisms [...].
Topics: Humans; Ecotoxicology
PubMed: 38203725
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010555 -
Genes Sep 2021Our ability to predict and assess how environmental changes such as pollution and climate change affect components of the Earth's biome is of paramount importance. This... (Review)
Review
Our ability to predict and assess how environmental changes such as pollution and climate change affect components of the Earth's biome is of paramount importance. This need positioned the fields of ecotoxicology and stress ecology at the center of environmental monitoring efforts. Advances in these interdisciplinary fields depend not only on conceptual leaps but also on technological advances and data integration. High-throughput "omics" technologies enabled the measurement of molecular changes at virtually all levels of an organism's biological organization and thus continue to influence how the impacts of stressors are understood. This bibliometric review describes literature trends (2000-2020) that indicate that more different stressors than species are studied each year but that only a few stressors have been studied in more than two phyla. At the same time, the molecular responses of a diverse set of non-model species have been investigated, but cross-species comparisons are still rare. While transcriptomics studies dominated until 2016, a shift towards proteomics and multiomics studies is apparent. There is now a wealth of data at functional omics levels from many phylogenetically diverse species. This review, therefore, addresses the question of how to integrate omics information across species.
Topics: Climate Change; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollution; Genomics; Humans; Metabolomics; Proteomics; Risk Assessment; Stress, Physiological; Transcriptome
PubMed: 34680873
DOI: 10.3390/genes12101481 -
Marine Pollution Bulletin 2011
Topics: Congresses as Topic; Ecotoxicology; Oceans and Seas; Water Pollution
PubMed: 21689833
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.06.008