Toxicokinetics are important for extrapolating health effects and effect levels observed in laboratory animals to humans for purposes of establishing health-based criteria. We conducted a comprehensive review of key absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) parameters across different mammalian species for five perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and discussed how these data can be used to inform human health risk assessment of these substances. Our analysis revealed several notable differences among the different PFAS regarding species- and substance-specific tissue partitioning, half-life, and transfer to developing offspring via the placenta or lactation, as well as highlighted data gaps for certain substances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInorganic arsenic (iAs) in drinking water varies geographically and is prevalent worldwide. While exposures in the US are generally low, there are some areas with higher levels of naturally occurring iAs (potentially >100μg/L) where residents rely on unregulated drinking water wells. Much of the evidence on the association between iAs and cancer comes from epidemiological studies conducted in South American and Asian populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently concluded that there is likely to be a causal relationship between short-term (< 30 days) ozone exposure and cardiovascular (CV) effects; however, biological mechanisms to link transient effects with chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD) have not been established. Some studies assessed changes in circulating levels of biomarkers associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, coagulation, vasoreactivity, lipidology, and glucose metabolism after ozone exposure to elucidate a biological mechanism. We conducted a weight-of-evidence (WoE) analysis to determine if there is evidence supporting an association between changes in these biomarkers and short-term ozone exposure that would indicate a biological mechanism for CVD below the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 75 parts per billion (ppb).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvidence demonstrating that human exposure to various organophosphorus insecticides (OPs) is associated with neurobehavioral deficits in children continues to emerge. The present study focused on diazinon (DZ) and its active oxygen metabolite, diazoxon (DZO), and explored their ability to impair neurite outgrowth in rat primary hippocampal neurons as a mechanism of developmental neurotoxicity. Both DZ and DZO (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxicol Appl Pharmacol
February 2014
Evidence from in vivo and epidemiological studies suggests that organophosphorus insecticides (OPs) are developmental neurotoxicants, but possible underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Astrocytes are increasingly recognized for their active role in normal neuronal development. This study sought to investigate whether the widely-used OP diazinon (DZ), and its oxygen metabolite diazoxon (DZO), would affect glial-neuronal interactions as a potential mechanism of developmental neurotoxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegul Toxicol Pharmacol
February 2014
In a recent draft report, Next Generation Risk Assessment: Incorporation of Recent Advances in Molecular, Computational, and Systems Biology, the US Environmental Protection Agency presents valuable contributions to understanding the roles that evolving toxicity testing methods and associated interpretative techniques can play in assessing the risks associated with chemical exposures. However, the evaluations presented in the NexGen report would benefit from more thorough consideration of several essential components of a critical review of toxicity data, e.g.
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