Pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants are designed to be bioactive at low concentrations. According to their mode of action, they can also influence non-target organisms due to the phylogenetic conservation of molecular targets. In addition to the pollution by environmental chemicals, the topic of microplastics (MP) in the aquatic environment came into the focus of scientific and public interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe NSAID diclofenac is controversially discussed with respect to its environmental relevance. Since further information is need to assess whether diclofenac should be included as substance of priority in the EU water framework directive, we investigated the impact of this analgesic on the embryonic development of brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario) from fertilized egg until the end of sac-fry stage and studied effects in juvenile fish six months post hatch.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTelomerase plays an important role during immortalization and malignant transformation as crucial steps in the development of human cancer. In a cellular model of oral-esophageal carcinogenesis, recapitulating the human disease, immortalization occurred independent of the activation of telomerase but through the recombination-based alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). In this stepwise model, additional overexpression of EGFR led to in vitro transformation and activation of telomerase with homogeneous telomere elongation in already immortalized oral squamous epithelial cells (OKF6-D1_dnp53).
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