A Systems Biology Approach Reveals Converging Molecular Mechanisms that Link Different POPs to Common Metabolic Diseases.

Background: A number of epidemiological studies have identified statistical associations between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metabolic diseases, but testable hypotheses regarding underlying molecular mechanisms to explain these linkages have not been published.

Objectives: We assessed the underlying mechanisms of POPs that have been associated with metabolic diseases; three well-known POPs [2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), 2,2´,4,4´,5,5´-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153), and 4,4´-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p´-DDE)] were studied. We used advanced database search tools to delineate testable hypotheses and to guide laboratory-based research studies into underlying mechanisms by which this POP mixture could produce or exacerbate metabolic diseases.

Low-Dose Cadmium Causes Metabolic and Genetic Dysregulation Associated With Fatty Liver Disease in Mice.

Cadmium (Cd) is present in food at low levels and accumulates in humans throughout life because it is not effectively excreted. Cd from smoking or occupational exposure shows adverse effects on health, but the mechanistic effect of Cd at low dietary intake levels is poorly studied. Epidemiology studies found that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), common in U.

Biomarkers in toxicology and risk assessment.

Over the last 30 years, the field of biomarkers has greatly expanded as early and specific endpoints for monitoring cellular responses to various disease states and exposures to drugs and chemical agents. They have enjoyed some success as predictors of health outcomes for a number of clinical diseases, but the application to chemical exposure risk assessments has been more limited. Biomarkers may be classified into categories of markers of exposure, effect, and susceptibility.

Modeling chemical interaction profiles: II. Molecular docking, spectral data-activity relationship, and structure-activity relationship models for potent and weak inhibitors of cytochrome P450 CYP3A4 isozyme.

Polypharmacy increasingly has become a topic of public health concern, particularly as the U.S. population ages.

Modeling chemical interaction profiles: I. Spectral data-activity relationship and structure-activity relationship models for inhibitors and non-inhibitors of cytochrome P450 CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 isozymes.

An interagency collaboration was established to model chemical interactions that may cause adverse health effects when an exposure to a mixture of chemicals occurs. Many of these chemicals--drugs, pesticides, and environmental pollutants--interact at the level of metabolic biotransformations mediated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. In the present work, spectral data-activity relationship (SDAR) and structure-activity relationship (SAR) approaches were used to develop machine-learning classifiers of inhibitors and non-inhibitors of the CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 isozymes.

Metal ions affecting the kidney.

This chapter provides a succinct summary of the nephrotoxic effects of a number of metals/metalloids on an individual or mixture basis. There is a discussion of routes of exposure, mechanisms of uptake by renal cells and the potential impact of nanomaterials on these processes. An emphasis is placed on the toxicity of these metals/ metalloids to individual cell types in the kidney and the application of biomarkers for the early detection of kidney cell injury prior to the onset of an overt clinical state such as end-stage renal disease.

SAR/QSAR methods in public health practice.

Methods of (Quantitative) Structure-Activity Relationship ((Q)SAR) modeling play an important and active role in ATSDR programs in support of the Agency mission to protect human populations from exposure to environmental contaminants. They are used for cross-chemical extrapolation to complement the traditional toxicological approach when chemical-specific information is unavailable. SAR and QSAR methods are used to investigate adverse health effects and exposure levels, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetic properties of hazardous chemical compounds.

Exposure to Pb, Cd, and As mixtures potentiates the production of oxidative stress precursors: 30-day, 90-day, and 180-day drinking water studies in rats.

Exposure to chemical mixtures is a common and important determinant of toxicity and is of particular concern due to their appearance in sources of drinking water. Despite this, few in vivo mixture studies have been conducted to date to understand the health impact of chemical mixtures compared to single chemicals. Interactive effects of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) were evaluated in 30-, 90-, and 180-day factorial design drinking water studies in rats designed to test the hypothesis that ingestion of such mixtures at individual component Lowest-Observed-Effect-Levels (LOELs) results in increased levels of the pro-oxidant delta aminolevulinic acid (ALA), iron, and copper.

Research recommendations for selected IARC-classified agents.

Objectives: There are some common occupational agents and exposure circumstances for which evidence of carcinogenicity is substantial but not yet conclusive for humans. Our objectives were to identify research gaps and needs for 20 agents prioritized for review based on evidence of widespread human exposures and potential carcinogenicity in animals or humans.

Data Sources: For each chemical agent (or category of agents), a systematic review was conducted of new data published since the most recent pertinent International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph meeting on that agent.

Interpreting NHANES biomonitoring data, cadmium.

Cadmium (Cd) occurs naturally in the environment and the general population's exposure to it is predominantly through diet. Chronic Cd exposure is a public health concern because Cd is a known carcinogen; it accumulates in the body and causes kidney damage. The National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) has measured urinary Cd; the 2003-2004 NHANES survey cycle reported estimates for 2257 persons aged 6 years and older in the Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals.

Modification by ALAD of the association between blood lead and blood pressure in the U.S. population: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Environmental lead exposure has been found to be associated with an increased risk of hypertension. Individuals vary greatly in susceptibility to lead toxicity, and genetic susceptibility has often been cited as the probable cause for such variation.

Objective: The main objective is to determine the role of the aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) gene, which encodes the main carrier protein of lead in blood, in the association between lead exposure and blood pressure (BP) and hypertension in the U.

Monitoring of human populations for early markers of cadmium toxicity: a review.

Exposure of human populations to cadmium (Cd) from air, food and water may produce effects in organs such as the kidneys, liver, lungs, cardiovascular, immune and reproductive systems. Since Cd has been identified as a human carcinogen, biomarkers for early detection of susceptibility to cancer are of an importance to public health. The ability to document Cd exposure and uptake of this element through biological monitoring is a first step towards understanding its health effects.

Proteomic and metabolomic biomarkers for III-V semiconductors: and prospects for application to nano-materials.

There has been an increased appreciation over the last 20 years that chemical agents at very low dose levels can produce biological responses in protein expression patterns (proteomic responses) or alterations in sensitive metabolic pathways (metabolomic responses). Marked improvements in analytical methodologies, such as 2-D gel electrophoresis, matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and surface enhanced laser desorption-time of flight (SELDI-TOF) technologies are capable of identifying specific protein patterns related to exposure to chemicals either alone or as mixtures. The detection and interpretation of early cellular responses to chemical agents have also made great advances through correlative ultrastructural morphometric and biochemical studies.

Roles of biomarkers in evaluating interactions among mixtures of lead, cadmium and arsenic.

Human exposure to environmental chemicals is most correctly characterized as exposure to mixtures of these agents. The metals/metalloids, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As), are among the leading toxic agents detected in the environment. Exposure to these elements, particularly at chronic low dose levels, is still a major public health concern.

Lead and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase polymorphism: where does it lead? A meta-analysis.

Background: Lead poisoning affects many organs in the body. Lead inhibits delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD), an enzyme with two co-dominantly expressed alleles, ALAD1 and ALAD2.

Objective: Our meta-analysis studied the effects of the ALAD polymorphism on a) blood and bone lead levels and b) indicators of target organ toxicity.

Genetic factors that might lead to different responses in individuals exposed to perchlorate.

Perchlorate has been detected in groundwater in many parts of the United States, and recent detection in vegetable and dairy food products indicates that contamination by perchlorate is more widespread than previously thought. Perchlorate is a competitive inhibitor of the sodium iodide symporter, the thyroid cell-surface protein responsible for transporting iodide from the plasma into the thyroid. An estimated 4.

Metallothionein expression in invasive and in situ breast carcinomas.

Background/methods: The primary aims of this study were to examine the expression of metallothionein (MT) in 123 primary invasive breast carcinomas and the in situ components of these carcinomas and to assess the association between MT expression and certain socio-demographic and clinico-pathologic characteristics. MT expression was assessed using immunohistochemical procedures and semi-quantified using an immunoreactivity score.

Results: Results showed that 57.

Metabolomic and proteomic biomarkers for III-V semiconductors: chemical-specific porphyrinurias and proteinurias.

A pressing need exists to develop and validate molecular biomarkers to assess the early effects of chemical agents, both individually and in mixtures. This is particularly true for new and chemically intensive industries such as the semiconductor industry. Previous studies from this laboratory and others have demonstrated element-specific alterations of the heme biosynthetic pathway for the III-V semiconductors gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium arsenide (InAs) with attendant increased urinary excretion of specific heme precursors.

Oxidative stress induced by lead, cadmium and arsenic mixtures: 30-day, 90-day, and 180-day drinking water studies in rats: an overview.

Humans are frequently exposed to combinations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and Arsenic (As) but there is a paucity of actual data on the molecular effects of these agents at low dose levels. The present factorial design studies were undertaken in rats to examine the effects of these agents at LOEL dose levels on a number of molecular parameters of oxidative stress in hematopoietic and renal organ systems following oral exposure in drinking water at 30, 90 and 180 day time points. Results of these studies demonstrated dynamic, time-dependent alterations in both molecular targets and inducible oxidative stress protective systems in target cell populations.

Preliminary studies of offspring exposure to phenylbutazone and ivermectin during the perinatal period in a Holstein cow-calf model.

The pregnant Holstein cow and her newborn calf were evaluated as an animal model to study in utero and for lactational drug transfer and offspring exposure. A nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, phenylbutazone, and an antiparasitic drug, ivermectin, were tested in the model. Prior to parturition, pregnant cows were dosed orally to steady state with phenylbutazone at 4 g/day or given a single subcutaneous injection of 200 microg ivermectin/kg body wt.

A comparison of 60, 70, and 90 kDa stress protein expression in normal rat NRK-52 and human HK-2 kidney cell lines following in vitro exposure to arsenite and cadmium alone or in combination.

Arsenite and cadmium are two potent nephrotoxicants and common Superfund site elements. These elements are included among the stress protein inducers, but information regarding relationships between toxicity produced by combinations of these agents to the stress protein response is lacking. In this study, the immortalized cell lines normal rat kidney NRK-52E and human kidney HK-2 were exposed in vitro to arsenite (As(3+)), cadmium (Cd(2+)), or to equimolar As(3+) plus Cd(2+) mixture combinations for 3 and 5 h over a concentration range of 0.