Reassessment of ecotoxicities of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane in Japanese quail under the OECD draft new avian one-generation reproduction test guideline.

Ecotoxicological hazards of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) were investigated by a one-generation reproduction study using Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) under an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) draft new test guideline 206 following acute and subchronic toxicity studies. In the subchronic feeding toxicity study, tremors, convulsions, and deaths were observed with a clear sex difference, males being more susceptible than females. The estimated total number of sperm tended to decrease in a dose-dependent manner at the end of 6-week treatment.

Increased Expression of the Genes for Mitotic Spindle Assembly and Chromosome Segregation in Both Lung and Pancreatic Carcinomas.

Genes whose expression was modulated in two different tumor types, lung or pancreatic carcinoma, were identified by DNA microarray and subsequent expression correlation analyses. For more accurate comparison of the gene expression between tumor and normal cells, tumor cells and normal epithelium cells were isolated by laser-captured microdissection. Genes whose expression was significantly altered in lung carcinomas or pancreatic carcinomas as compared to their normal counterparts were ranked by the T-values calculated from the Fisher's ratios and their corresponding background Fisher's ratios, followed by statistical confirmation using the Welch's t-test.

Uremic toxins overload accelerates renal damage in a rat model of chronic renal failure.

Uremic toxins have been suggested to promote progression of chronic renal failure by damaging tubular cells. Previous in vitro studies have indicated that some uremic toxins induce oxidative stress and activate NF-kappaB to upregulate plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in tubular cells. These mechanisms may promote tubulointerstitial fibrosis.