Publications by authors named "Michela Ferraris"

This study evaluates the effects of disinfection on the formation of toxic compounds in lake water treated with sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide and peracetic acid (a disinfectant not previously used in drinking water processes). Chlorine reacts with the natural organic matter or contaminants in surface waters and produces a complex mixture of disinfection by-products (DBPs), some of which have been shown to be carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or teratogenic in animal studies. To define the potential toxicity on aquatic animals, disinfected drinking waters obtained from a pilot plant fed with water coming from Lake Trasimeno (Perugia) were collected, adsorbed by using silica C18 cartridges, and then eluted in sequence with ethylacetate, dichloromethane and methanol.

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The dicarboximide fungicide iprodione (Ip) causes oxidative damage as a result of the production of free oxygen radicals, and induces cytochrome P4501A3 (CYP1A3) in cultured rainbow trout hepatocytes. The aim of this study was to characterise some of the molecular mechanisms by means of which Ip activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and subsequently induces the CYP1A3 gene in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The study was performed using primary hepatocytes and transfected HepG2 cells with a reporter construct, in which luciferase gene expression is under the transcriptional control of a multimerised xenobiotic response elements (4XREs), or a 2.

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It is known that procymidone modifies sexual differentiation in vivo and in vitro, and that it induces vitellogenin (Vtg) synthesis in primary cultured rainbow trout hepatocytes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanism underlying this latter in vitro estrogenic action. The cells were treated for 24 h with procymidone 150 microM (with 17beta-estradiol [E2] 20 microM as a positive control) combined with an estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist (tamoxifen 20 microM or ICI 182,780 1 microM) or, given the drug toxic action on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a free radical scavenger (alpha-tocopherol 30 microM).

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the two-step hepatocyte isolation procedure on primary cultured trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes over time. We characterised the possible changes of a variety of some cellular parameters within the first 24-48 h after seeding. We followed the time dependent changes of these parameters during subsequent culture times in order to see if the cells maintained a differentiated status.

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