Second Skin as Self-Protection Against γ-Hydroxybutyrate.

γ-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a date-rape drug, causes certain symptoms, such as amnesia, confusion, ataxia, and unconsciousness, when dissolved in beverages and consumed by a victim. Commonly, assailants use GHB in secret for the crime of drug-facilitated sexual assault because it is tasteless, odorless, and colorless when dissolved in beverages. Generally, GHB detection methods are difficult to use promptly and secretly and in real life because of the necessary detection equipment and low selectivity.

Effect of Oxyfluorination of PFA-Coated Metal Mesh with Superhydrophobic Properties on the Filtration Performance of SiO Microparticles.

Recently, semiconductor wastewater treatment has received much attention due to the emergence of environmental issues. Acid-resistant coatings are essential for metal prefilters used in semiconductor wastewater treatment. Perfluoroalkoxy alkane is mainly used as an acid-resistant coating agent, since PFA has inherent superhydrophobicity, water permeability is lowered.

DNA methylome signatures as epigenetic biomarkers of hexanal associated with lung toxicity.

Background: Numerous studies have investigated the relationship of environmental exposure, epigenetic effects, and human diseases. These linkages may contribute to the potential toxicity mechanisms of environmental chemicals. Here, we investigated the epigenetic pulmonary response of hexanal, a major indoor irritant, following inhalation exposure in F-344 rats.

The genome of the giant Nomura's jellyfish sheds light on the early evolution of active predation.

Background: Unique among cnidarians, jellyfish have remarkable morphological and biochemical innovations that allow them to actively hunt in the water column and were some of the first animals to become free-swimming. The class Scyphozoa, or true jellyfish, are characterized by a predominant medusa life-stage consisting of a bell and venomous tentacles used for hunting and defense, as well as using pulsed jet propulsion for mobility. Here, we present the genome of the giant Nomura's jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai) to understand the genetic basis of these key innovations.

DNA Methylome Analysis of Saturated Aliphatic Aldehydes in Pulmonary Toxicity.

Recent studies have investigated the epigenetic effects of environmental exposure to chemicals on human health. The associations of DNA methylation, environmental exposure and human diseases have been widely demonstrated. However, the use of gene methylation patterns as a predictive biomarker for exposure to environmental toxicants is relatively poorly understood.

Effect of particulate matter 2.5 on gene expression profile and cell signaling in JEG-3 human placenta cells.

Particulate matter the environmental toxicant, with a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM ) is a common cause of several respiratory diseases. In recent years, several studies have suggested that PM can influence diverse diseases, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, dementia, and female reproductive disorders, and unhealthy birth outcomes.

Identification of novel cytokine biomarkers of hexanal exposure associated with pulmonary toxicity.

We aimed to investigate whether exposure to low-molecular-weight saturated aliphatic aldehydes induces an airway inflammation related to lung toxicity. In previous studies, we identified that several aldehydes induced inflammatory responses through the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Here, we elucidate on whether hexanal exposure induces the lung inflammatory response through the secretion of cytokines.

Comparative analysis of microRNA and mRNA expression profiles in cells and exosomes under toluene exposure.

Recent studies have illustrated the growing importance of exosomes (small extracellular vesicles) and their constituent microRNAs (miRNAs) in the fields of toxicology and pathology. The mechanism of toxicity of toluene, a highly-prevalent and volatile organic compound, is largely unknown. To examine the role of miRNAs in toluene-induced toxicity, we investigated miRNAs and toluene-induced gene expression in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells and exosomes using microarrays.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-MAPK-nuclear factor(NF)-κB-IL8: A possible mechanism of particulate matter(PM) 2.5-induced lung toxicity.

Airway inflammation plays a central role in the pathophysiology of diverse pulmonary diseases. In this study, we investigated whether exposure to particulate matter (PM) 2.5, a PM with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.

Application of carbon foam for heavy metal removal from industrial plating wastewater and toxicity evaluation of the adsorbent.

Electroplating wastewater contains various types of toxic substances, such as heavy metals, solvents, and cleaning agents. Carbon foam was used as an adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from real industrial plating wastewater. Its sorption capacity was compared with those of a commercial ion-exchange resin (BC258) and a heavy metal adsorbent (CupriSorb™) in a batch system.

Toxicogenomic analysis of the pulmonary toxic effects of hexanal in F344 rat.

Hexanal is a major component of indoor air pollutants and is a kind of aldehydes; it has adverse effects on human health. We performed an in vivo inhalation study and transcriptomic analysis to determine the mode of toxic actions in response to hexanal. Fischer 344 rats of both sexes were exposed by inhalation to hexanal aerosol for 4 h day , 5 days week for 4 weeks at 0, 600, 1000, and 1500 ppm.

Integrative analysis of mRNA and microRNA expression of a human alveolar epithelial cell(A549) exposed to water and organic-soluble extract from particulate matter (PM).

MicroRNA (miRNA) is now attracting attention as a powerful negative regulator of messenger RNA(mRNA) levels, and is implicated in the modulation of important mRNA networks involved in toxicity. In this study, we assessed the effects of particulate matter 2.5 (PM ), one of the most significant air pollutants, on miRNA and target gene expression.

MicroRNA response of inhalation exposure to hexanal in lung tissues from Fischer 344 rats.

In previous studies, we have investigated the relationships between environmental chemicals and health risk based on omics analysis and identified significant biomarkers. Our current findings indicate that hexanal may be an important toxicant of the pulmonary system in epigenetic insights. MicroRNA (miRNA) is an important indicator of biomedical risk assessment and target identification.

Blood miRNAs as sensitive and specific biological indicators of environmental and occupational exposure to volatile organic compound (VOC).

To date, there is still shortage of highly sensitive and specific minimally invasive biomarkers for assessment of environmental toxicants exposure. Because of the significance of microRNA (miRNA) in various diseases, circulating miRNAs in blood may be unique biomarkers for minimally invasive prediction of toxicants exposure. We identified and validated characteristic miRNA expression profiles of human whole blood in workers exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and compared the usefulness of miRNA indicator of VOCs with the effectiveness of the already used urinary biomarkers of occupational exposure.

Integrated analysis of microRNA and mRNA expression profiles highlights aldehyde-induced inflammatory responses in cells relevant for lung toxicity.

We have shown that aldehydes impact the bronchial airway gene expression associated with inflammatory responses. In this study, we sought to determine whether microRNA (miRNA) plays a role in regulating the airway gene expression response to aldehyde exposure. We analyzed the whole genome miRNA and mRNA expression profiles of human alveolar epithelial cells exposed to 3 aldehydes (propanal, butanal, and pentanal) to identify aldehyde-sensitive miRNAs and to characterize the relationships between miRNAs and the expression of candidate cytokine-related genes, which are activated in response to inflammatory signals.

Transcriptome profile analysis of saturated aliphatic aldehydes reveals carbon number-specific molecules involved in pulmonary toxicity.

In the current study, we aimed to investigate the transcriptomic responses and identify specific molecular signatures of low-molecular-weight saturated aliphatic aldehydes (LSAAs). To evaluate the change in gene expression levels, A549 human alveolar epithelial cells were exposed to six LSAAs (propanal, butanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, and octanal) for 48 h. Clustering analysis of gene expression data show that the low carbon number group (LCG; propanal, butanal, and pentanal) was distinguished from the high carbon number group (HCG; hexanal, heptanal, and octanal).

Modified composites based on mesostructured iron oxyhydroxide and synthetic minerals: a potential material for the treatment of various toxic heavy metals and its toxicity.

The composites of mesostructured iron oxyhydroxide and/or commercial synthetic zeolite were investigated for use in the removal of toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium, copper, lead and arsenic, from aqueous solution. Four types of adsorbents, dried alginate beads (DABs), synthetic-zeolite impregnated beads (SZIBs), meso-iron-oxyhydroxide impregnated beads (MIOIBs) and synthetic-zeolite/meso-iron-oxyhydroxide composite beads (SZMIOIBs), were prepared for heavy metal adsorption tests. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the removal efficiencies of cations and anions of heavy metals and the possibility of regenerating the adsorbents.

Analysis of microRNA and mRNA expression profiles highlights alterations in modulation of the MAPK pathway under octanal exposure.

Previous environmental microRNA (miRNA) studies have investigated a limited number of candidate miRNAs and have not evaluated functional effects on gene expression. In this study, we aimed to identify octanal (OC)-sensitive miRNAs and to characterize the relationships between miRNAs and expression of candidate genes involved in OC-induced toxicity. Microarray analysis identified 15 miRNAs that were differentially expressed in OC-exposed A549 human alveolar cells.

Discovery of characteristic molecular signatures for the simultaneous prediction and detection of environmental pollutants.

Gene expression data may be very promising for the classification of toxicant types, but the development and application of transcriptomic-based gene classifiers for environmental toxicological applications are lacking compared to the biomedical sciences. Also, simultaneous classification across a set of toxicant types has not been investigated extensively. In the present study, we determined the transcriptomic response to three types of ubiquitous toxicants exposure in two types of human cell lines (HepG2 and HL-60), which are useful in vitro human model for evaluation of toxic substances that may affect human hepatotoxicity (e.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-mediated upregulation of hepatic microRNA-181 family promotes cancer cell migration by targeting MAPK phosphatase-5, regulating the activation of p38 MAPK.

Growing evidence indicates that changes in microRNA (miRNA) expression in cancer induced by chemical carcinogens play an important role in cancer development and progression by regulating related genes. However, the mechanisms underlying miRNA involvement in hepatocarcinogenesis induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) remain unclear. Thus, the identification of aberrant miRNA expression during PAH-induced cancer cell migration will lead to a better understanding of the substantial role of miRNAs in cancer progression.

Monitoring of deiodinase deficiency based on transcriptomic responses in SH-SY5Y cells.

Iodothyronine deiodinase types I, II, and III (D1, D2, and D3, respectively), which constitute a family of selenoenzymes, activate and inactivate thyroid hormones through the removal of specific iodine moieties from thyroxine and its derivatives. These enzymes are important in the biological effects mediated by thyroid hormones. The expression of activating and inactivating deiodinases plays a critical role in a number of cell systems, including the neuronal system, during development as well as in adult vertebrates.

Changes in thyroid peroxidase activity in response to various chemicals.

Thyroperoxidase (TPO) is a large heme-containing glycoprotein that catalyzes the transfer of iodine to thyroglobulin during thyroid hormone (TH) synthesis. Previously, we established an in vitro assay for TPO activity based on human recombinant TPO (hrTPO) stably transfected into human follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC-238) cells. It is important to determine whether environmental chemicals can disrupt TPO activity because it is an important factor in the TH axis.

Identification of molecular signatures predicting the carcinogenicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Assessing the potential carcinogenicity of human toxins represents an ongoing challenge. Chronic rodent bioassays predict human cancer risk with limited reliability, and are expensive and time-consuming. To identify alternative prediction methods, we evaluated a transcriptomics-based human in vitro model to classify carcinogens by their modes of action.