Fish environmental RNA sequencing sensitively captures accumulative stress responses through short-term aquarium sampling.

The utility of environmental RNA (eRNA) in capturing biological responses to stresses has been discussed previously; however, the limited number of genes detected remains a significant hindrance to its widespread implementation. Here, we investigated the potential of eRNA to assess the health status of Japanese medaka fish exposed to linear alkylbenzene sulfonate. Analyzing eRNA and organismal RNA (oRNA) in aquarium water within 12 h, we achieved high mapping rates and 10 times more differentially expressed genes than previously reported.

Global-SHANEL Asia model predicting chemical concentration in rivers with high spatio-temporal resolution, suitable for climate change scenarios.

Assessing the concentrations of various chemicals in river water is critical for ensuring global environmental sustainability. There is an increasing need to assess water risks in southeast Asia due to the increasing chemical pollution associated with the rapid economic growth and abnormal weather. Although AIST-SHANEL, a model for analyzing chemical concentrations in river water based on the characteristics of individual rivers and meteorological conditions, is useful for assessing the water risks, this model currently only applies to Japanese rivers due to the lack of global data.

Identification of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) for chemical-induced craniofacial anomalies using the transgenic zebrafish model.

Craniofacial anomalies are one of the most frequent birth defects worldwide and are often caused by genetic and environmental factors such as pharmaceuticals and chemical agents. Although identifying adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) is a central issue for evaluating the teratogenicity, the AOP causing craniofacial anomalies has not been identified. Recently, zebrafish has gained interest as an emerging model for predicting teratogenicity because of high throughput, cost-effectiveness and availability of various tools for examining teratogenic mechanisms.

Comparative environmental RNA and DNA metabarcoding analysis of river algae and arthropods for ecological surveys and water quality assessment.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is widely used for species analysis, while the use of environmental RNA (eRNA) metabarcoding is more limited. We conducted comparative eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding of the algae and arthropods (aquatic insects) in water samples from Naka River, Japan, to evaluate their potential for biological monitoring and water quality assessment. Both methods detected various algae and arthropod species; however, their compositions were remarkably different from those in traditional field surveys (TFSs), indicating low sensitivity.

Investigating the uncertainty of prediction accuracy for the application of physiologically based pharmacokinetic models to animal-free risk assessment of cosmetic ingredients.

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are considered useful tools in animal-free risk assessment. To utilize PBPK models for risk assessment, it is necessary to compare their reliability with in vivo data. However, obtaining in vivo pharmacokinetics data for cosmetic ingredients is difficult, complicating the utilization of PBPK models for risk assessment.

RAID: Regression Analysis-Based Inductive DNA Microarray for Precise Read-Across.

Chemical structure-based read-across represents a promising method for chemical toxicity evaluation without the need for animal testing; however, a chemical structure is not necessarily related to toxicity. Therefore, studies were often used for read-across reliability refinement; however, their external validity has been hindered by the gap between and conditions. Thus, we developed a virtual DNA microarray, regression analysis-based inductive DNA microarray (RAID), which quantitatively predicts gene expression profiles based on the chemical structure and/or transcriptome data.

4″-Sulfation Is the Major Metabolic Pathway of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate in Humans: Characterization of Metabolites, Enzymatic Analysis, and Pharmacokinetic Profiling.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major green tea polyphenol, has beneficial effects on human health. This study aimed to elucidate the detailed EGCG sulfation process to better understand its phase II metabolism, a process required to maximize its health benefits. Results show that kinetic activity of sulfation in the human liver and intestinal cytosol is 2-fold and 60- to 300-fold higher than that of methylation and glucuronidation, respectively, suggesting sulfation as the key metabolic pathway.

Comparison of toxicological effects and exposure levels between triclosan and its structurally similar chemicals using in vitro tests for read-across case study.

Read-across based on structural and biological similarities is expected to be a promising alternative method for assessing systemic toxicity. A concrete strategy for quantitative chemical risk assessment would be to stack read-across case studies and extract key considerations from them. Thus, we developed a read-across case study by comparing the toxicological effects based on adverse outcome pathways and exposure levels of different structurally similar chemicals for a target organ.

Single-strand specific nuclease enhances accuracy of error-corrected sequencing and improves rare mutation-detection sensitivity.

Error-corrected sequences (ECSs) that utilize double-stranded DNA sequences are useful in detecting mutagen-induced mutations. However, relatively higher frequencies of G:C > T:A (1 × 10 bp) and G:C > C:G (2 × 10 bp) errors decrease the accuracy of detection of rare G:C mutations (approximately 10 bp). Oxidized guanines in single-strand (SS) overhangs generated after shearing could serve as the source of these errors.

Risk factors for cefazolin-resistant febrile urinary tract infection in children.

Background: Febrile urinary tract infection (fUTI) is a common bacterial infection among children. This study investigated the risk factors for fUTI caused by cefazolin-resistant bacteria in children.

Methods: The medical records of patients with fUTI hospitalized between April 2014 and March 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.

Effects of internal hydrophilic groups of a newly developed sustainable anionic surfactant on biodegradability and ecotoxicity.

Recently, a new sustainable anionic surfactant called bio-based internal olefin sulfonate (Bio IOS) has been developed. This surfactant enables excellent water solubility and high surface activity. It has a unique structure of long hydrophobic alkyl chains (C16 to C18) with two types of hydrophilic groups in its midsection, which distinguish it from other conventional anionic surfactants.

In silico systems for predicting chemical-induced side effects using known and potential chemical protein interactions, enabling mechanism estimation.

In silico models for predicting chemical-induced side effects have become increasingly important for the development of pharmaceuticals and functional food products. However, existing predictive models have difficulty in estimating the mechanisms of side effects in terms of molecular targets or they do not cover the wide range of pharmacological targets. In the present study, we constructed novel in silico models to predict chemical-induced side effects and estimate the underlying mechanisms with high general versatility by integrating the comprehensive prediction of potential chemical-protein interactions (CPIs) with machine learning.

Safety Pharmacological Evaluation of the Coffee Component, Caffeoylquinic Acid, and Its Metabolites, Using Ex Vivo and In Vitro Profiling Assays.

Although coffee components have gained interest for use as pharmaceuticals, little is known about their safety pharmacological effects. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the safety pharmacological effects of a chlorogenic acid (CGA)-related compound contained in coffee, 5--caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA), and its metabolites, 5--feruloylquinic acid (5-FQA), caffeic acid (CA), and ferulic acid (FA). Langendorff perfused heart assay, electrophysiological assay of acute rat hippocampal slices, and in vitro Magnus assay of gastrointestinal tracts were conducted at 1-100 µM.

Validation of AIST-SHANEL Model Based on Spatiotemporally Extensive Monitoring Data of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate in Japan: Toward a Better Strategy on Deriving Predicted Environmental Concentrations.

Strategies for deriving predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) using environmental exposure models have become increasingly important in the environmental risk assessment of chemical substances. However, many strategies are not fully developed owing to uncertainties in the derivation of PECs across spatially extensive areas. Here, we used 3-year environmental monitoring data (river: 11 702 points; lake: 1867 points; sea: 12 points) on linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) in Japan to evaluate the ability of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)-Standardized Hydrology-Based Assessment Tool for the Chemical Exposure Load (SHANEL) model developed to predict chemical concentrations in major Japanese rivers.

A decision tree-based integrated testing strategy for tailor-made carcinogenicity evaluation of test substances using genotoxicity test results and chemical spaces.

Genotoxicity evaluation has been widely used to estimate the carcinogenicity of test substances during safety evaluation. However, the latest strategies using genotoxicity tests give more weight to sensitivity; therefore, their accuracy has been very low. For precise carcinogenicity evaluation, we attempted to establish an integrated testing strategy for the tailor-made carcinogenicity evaluation of test materials, considering the relationships among genotoxicity test results (Ames, in vitro mammalian genotoxicity and in vivo micronucleus), carcinogenicity test results and chemical properties (molecular weight, logKow and 179 organic functional groups).

A genome-wide mutation analysis method enabling high-throughput identification of chemical mutagen signatures.

Trinucleotide mutational signatures extracted from cancer genomes provide clues useful in understanding the roles of mutagens and mutagenic mechanisms in cancer development. The lack of a simple method for genome-wide analysis of alterations induced by mutagens hampers the identification of trinucleotide signatures of mutagen exposure and evaluation of their relationships with human cancers. Here, we describe a novel approach to facilitate analysis of chemically induced mutations in bacterial cells by detection of increased frequencies of base substitutions after mutagen exposure, using paired-end overlapping next-generation sequencing.

TrkA mediates retrograde semaphorin 3A signaling through plexin A4 to regulate dendritic branching.

Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A), a secretory semaphorin, exerts various biological actions through a complex between neuropilin-1 and plexin-As (PlexAs). Sema3A induces retrograde signaling, which is involved in regulating dendritic localization of GluA2 (also known as GRIA2), an AMPA receptor subunit. Here, we investigated a possible interaction between retrograde signaling pathways for Sema3A and nerve growth factor (NGF).

Cellular and molecular hypoxic response in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to linear alkylbenzene sulfonate at sublethal concentrations.

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) is an anionic surfactant commonly used in cleaning agents such as laundry detergents. Trace amounts of LAS are released into environmental waters after processing in wastewater treatment plants after the use of this chemical. Acute toxicity of LAS has been well-studied using various organisms, and its effects are particularly well known in fish.

Semaphorin 3A controls allergic and inflammatory responses in experimental allergic conjunctivitis.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of topical Semaphorin-3A (SEMA3A) in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.

Methods: Experimental allergic conjunctivitis (EAC) mice model induced by short ragweed pollen (SRW) in 4-week-old of BALB/c mice, mice were evaluated using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunofluorescence and light microscope photographs. Early phase took the samples in 24h after instillation and late phase took the samples between 4 to 14d after the start of treatment.

Dried umbilical cord is a potential material for retrospective diagnosis of intrauterine enterovirus infection.

Objective: To determine whether dried umbilical cords (UCs) are useful for retrospective diagnosis of intrauterine enterovirus (EV) infection.

Methods: Dried UCs in two patients with neonatal EV sepsis and 10 neonates without infectious signs were enrolled. Viral RNA was extracted from their dried UCs, and nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed.