The preliminary investigation of potential response biomarkers to PAHs exposure on childhood asthma.

Background: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a potential risk factor for asthma prevalence. This study aims to explore whether PAHs exposure is associated with childhood asthma by altering microbial diversity and metabolic profiles.

Methods: Thirty children with asthma and 30 children as control in Nanjing, China were recruited.

Effects of caffeic acid on epigenetics in the brain of rats with chronic unpredictable mild stress.

The present study hypothesized that caffeic acid (3,4‑dihydroxycinnamic acid; CaA) may exert antidepressant‑like effects in rats with chronic unpredictable mild stress via epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation. The chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model was used to analyze the effects of CaA on behavioral phenotypes, and to evaluate the distribution of 5‑methylcytosine (5mC) and 5‑hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. mRNA levels of the genes encoding brain‑derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and catechol‑O‑methyltransferase (COMT), and key enzymes regulating DNA methylation [DNA methyltransferase (DNMT)1 and DNMT3A] and hydroxymethylation [Ten‑eleven translocation (TET)1‑3] were examined using quantitative (q)PCR.

The Preliminary Study on the Association Between PAHs and Air Pollutants and Microbiota Diversity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and air pollutants and the diversity of microbiota. Daily average concentrations of six common air pollutants were obtained from China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. The PAHs exposure levels were evaluated by external and internal exposure detection methods, including monitoring atmospheric PAHs and urinary hydroxyl-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (OH-PAH) metabolite levels.