Endocrine disruptive effects of cypermethrin in Claria gari

CURATOR

A pinboard by

Oju IBOR

Researcher, University of Calabar

PINBOARD SUMMARY

We investigated the possible endocrine disruptive effects of cypermethrin in fish

We investigated the endocrine disruptive effects of varying concentrations cypermethrin on Clarias gariepinus by quantifying hormonal changes in estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) using ELISA. The gonads were also examined for histopathological alterations. We observed a dose dependent significant increases in E2 levels across exposure concentrations compared with control. While T levels decreased significantly with increasing concentrations compared with control. Overall, molecular and biochemical responses presented herein indicate that exposure of C. gariepinus to cypermethrin may have severe reproductive and population level consequences and are valuable and effective endpoint biomarkers that can be adopted for screening the endocrine disruptive effects of other synthetic compounds.

6 ITEMS PINNED

Organophosphate flame retardants in household dust before and after introduction of new furniture.

Abstract: Flame retardant compounds originating from household items collect in household dust, a reasonable proxy for human exposure. Contributions of specific items or behaviors to dust are difficult to separate. This study examined standardized college housing before and after the introduction of new, flame retardant couches in order to explore any effect that changing upholstered furniture may have on flame retardant concentrations in dust. Two contradictory hypotheses were posited: (1) that new furniture might increase flame retardant releases immediately after introduction due to initial off-gassing of new materials or (2) that older furniture would release more flame retardants due to mechanical breakdown of polyurethane foam. This study was designed to determine which of these processes dominated. Prior to the introduction of new furniture, TDCIPP was detected in 12/20 samples at a median concentration of 22 μg/g and TCEP was detected in 1/20 samples at a concentration of 16 μg/g. TDCIPP and TCEP were not detected in any samples (N = 29) after the introduction of new couches. TPHP was detected both before (in 11/20 samples) and after (in 5/29 samples) introduction of new couches; the median concentrations before and after were 63 ± 49 and 16 ± 11 μg/g (standard deviation shown). Introduced couches contained TDCIPP (and not TPHP) at ∼1.25% (w/w). These data support the second hypothesis and indicate that removal of older furniture decreases TDCIPP and TCEP concentrations in dust and may potentially reduce total flame retardant concentrations in dust, at least immediately after introduction of the new furniture.

Pub.: 04 Feb '16, Pinned: 30 Aug '17

Estimating exposures to indoor contaminants using residential dust.

Abstract: Residential dust has been used as a medium for assessing human exposures to a constellation of indoor contaminants including radionuclides, persistent organic pollutants, metals, allergens, and tobacco smoke. Here, we review and comment on investigations of household dust levels of particular analytes of health significance, namely polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In doing so, we not only describe methods for collecting and analyzing residential dust, but also describe global patterns in dust levels. Aside from geographic location, we discuss several potential determinants for dust levels of these contaminants. We also review previous estimates of the contribution of dust to overall intake of these three chemical classes and show how residential-dust measurements could be useful in either augmenting or replacing questionnaire-based assessment of human exposures in epidemiological studies. We conclude our review with a discussion of the current gaps in knowledge of worldwide dust levels and suggestions for how residential-dust measurements could be used to describe human exposures to chemicals in developing countries.

Pub.: 28 Apr '11, Pinned: 30 Aug '17

Exposure to phthalates in house dust and associated allergies in children aged 6-12years.

Abstract: Phthalates are widely used as plasticizers in household products. Several studies have reported an association between phthalate exposure and an increased risk of allergies. The present study estimated phthalate exposure in children aged 6-12years and assessed potential correlations with allergies. House dust samples were collected from floors and multi-surface objects >35cm above the floor. Urine samples were collected from the first morning void of the day. Daily phthalate intake (DIdust and DI) was estimated using both house dust and urinary metabolite concentrations. Exposure to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in floor dust was associated with parental-reported rhino-conjunctivitis. After stratification by gender, this trend was found to only occur in boys. Furthermore, urinary mono-isobutyl phthalate was inversely associated with parental-reported wheeze in boys. DIdust of benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP) and DEHP were significantly correlated with DI_BBzP and DI_DEHP, respectively. These correlations were stronger with floor than with multi-surface dust. Our results suggest that, among Japanese children, house dust from low surfaces, such as living room floors, might play a meaningful role in the indoor environmental exposure pathway for BBzP and DEHP.

Pub.: 03 Sep '16, Pinned: 30 Aug '17

Toxicity and repair of DNA adducts produced by the natural product yatakemycin

Abstract: Yatakemycin (YTM) is an extraordinarily toxic DNA alkylating agent with potent antimicrobial and antitumor properties and is the most recent addition to the CC-1065 and duocarmycin family of natural products. Though bulky DNA lesions the size of those produced by YTM are normally removed from the genome by the nucleotide-excision repair (NER) pathway, YTM adducts are also a substrate for the bacterial DNA glycosylases AlkD and YtkR2, unexpectedly implicating base-excision repair (BER) in their elimination. The reason for the extreme toxicity of these lesions and the molecular basis for the way they are eliminated by BER have been unclear. Here, we describe the structural and biochemical properties of YTM adducts that are responsible for their toxicity, and define the mechanism by which they are excised by AlkD. These findings delineate an alternative strategy for repair of bulky DNA damage and establish the cellular utility of this pathway relative to that of NER.

Pub.: 24 Jul '17, Pinned: 30 Aug '17

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a new bone morphogenetic protein-2 and -4 (BMP-2/4) antagonist identified in pituitary cells

Abstract: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) regulate diverse cellular responses during embryogenesis and in adulthood including cell differentiation, proliferation and death in various tissues. In the adult pituitary, BMPs participate in the control of hormone secretion and cell proliferation suggesting a potential endocrine/paracrine role for BMPs, but some of the mechanisms are unclear. Here, using a bioactivity test based on embryonic cells (C3H10T1/2) transfected with a BMP-responsive element, we sought to determine whether pituitary cells secrete BMPs or BMP antagonists. Interestingly, we found that pituitary-conditioned medium contains a factor that inhibits action of BMP-2 and -4. Combining surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry helped pinpoint this factor as thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1). SPR and co-immunoprecipitation confirmed that recombinant human TSP-1 can bind BMP-2 and -4 and antagonize their effects on C3H10T1/2 cells. Moreover, TSP-1 inhibited the action of serum BMPs. We also report that the von Willebrand type C (VWC) domain of TSP-1 is likely responsible for this BMP-2/4 binding activity, an assertion based on sequence similarity that TSP-1 shares with the VWC domain of Crossveinless 2 (CV-2), a BMP antagonist and member of the chordin family. In summary, we identified for the first time TSP-1 as a BMP-2/-4 antagonist and presented structural basis for the physical interaction between TSP-1 and BMP-4. We propose that TSP-1 could regulate bioavailability of BMPs, either produced locally or reaching the pituitary via the blood circulation. In conclusion, our findings provide new insights into the involvement of TSP-1 in the BMP-2/-4 mechanisms of action.

Pub.: 26 Jul '17, Pinned: 30 Aug '17

A mosquito hemolymph odorant-binding protein family member specifically binds juvenile hormone.

Abstract: Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key regulator of insect development and reproduction. In adult mosquitoes, it is essential for maturation of the ovary and normal male reproductive behavior, but how JH distribution and activity is regulated after secretion is unclear. Here, we report a new type of specific JH-binding protein, given the name mosquito juvenile hormone binding protein (mJHBP), which circulates in the hemolymph of pupal and adult Aedes aegypti males and females. mJHBP, is a member of the odorant-binding protein (OBP) family, and orthologs are present in the genomes of Aedes, Culex and Anopheles mosquito species. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, we show that mJHBP specifically binds JH II and JH III, but not eicosanoids or JH derivatives. mJHBP was crystallized in the presence of JH III and found to have a double OBP domain structure reminiscent of salivary "long" D7 proteins of mosquitoes. We observed that a single JH III molecule is contained in the N-terminal domain binding pocket that is closed in an apparent conformational change by a C-terminal domain-derived α-helix. The electron density for the ligand indicated a high occupancy of the natural 10R enantiomer of JH III. Of note, mJHBP is structurally unrelated to hJHBP from lepidopteran insects. A low level of expression of mJHBP in Ae. aegypti larvae suggests that it is primarily active during the adult stage where it could potentially influence the effects of JH on egg development, mating behavior, feeding or other processes.

Pub.: 29 Jul '17, Pinned: 30 Aug '17

Endocrine disruptive effects of cypermethrin in Claria gariepinus