Effect of arsenic exposure on early eye development in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Arsenic is a metalloid that contaminates drinking water supplies worldwide. Owing to concerns for human health, the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency have established a safe level in drinking water of ≤10 ppb. Recently, arsenic exposure has also been linked to lower IQ values in children.

Arsenic exposure alters expression of cell cycle and lipid metabolism genes in the liver of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used to investigate mRNA expression in the liver following 7-day and 21-day exposures to 0, 10, 50, or 500 ppb sodium arsenite. Arsenic exposure has been linked to several human disorders including cancers and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Quantitative PCR was employed to determine the mRNA expression of genes involved in cell cycle regulation [cyclin E1 (ccne1), WEE1 A kinase (wee1)], DNA damage repair [breast cancer 2 (brca2)] and lipid transport and metabolism [carnitine O-octanoyltransferase (crot), fatty acid binding protein-3 (fabp3) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase 1 (hmgcs1)].

Proteomic analysis of arsenic-exposed zebrafish (Danio rerio) identifies altered expression in proteins involved in fibrosis and lipid uptake in a gender-specific manner.

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) was used to investigate protein expression in the liver following arsenic exposure. Several disorders have been linked to arsenic exposure, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms of arsenic toxicity are poorly understood.

Aberrant overexpression of FOXM1 transcription factor plays a critical role in lung carcinogenesis induced by low doses of arsenic.

Environmental or occupational exposure to low doses of arsenic induces a series of health problems including cancer. The molecular events in arsenic-induced carcinogenicity remain to be defined. In the NuLi-1 immortalized human lung epithelial cell line with p53 and pRb deficiency, exposure to low doses of arsenic trioxide for 72 h promoted cell proliferation and upregulated the gene transcription levels of FOXM1, CDC6, CDC25A, and cyclin D1, which are both critical cell cycle regulatory genes and proto-oncogenes.

p53 Superfamily proteins in marine bivalve cancer and stress biology.

The human p53 tumour suppressor protein is inactivated in many cancers and is also a major player in apoptotic responses to cellular stress. The p53 protein and the two other members of this protein family (p63, p73) are encoded by distinct genes and their functions have been extensively documented for humans and some other vertebrates. The structure and relative expression levels for members of the p53 superfamily have also been reported for most major invertebrate taxa.

Response of white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) to pulp and paper mill effluent in the Androscoggin River, Maine, USA.

Adverse effects of pulp and paper mill effluent on fish populations have been well documented in many countries over the last two decades. Some of the initial studies were at mills with conventional chlorine bleaching and no secondary effluent treatment. Following installation of secondary treatment, changes in bleaching technology to elemental chlorine-free bleaching, and other process changes, adverse effects on fish were reduced or eliminated at some mills.

An invertebrate mdm homolog interacts with p53 and is differentially expressed together with p53 and ras in neoplastic Mytilus trossulus haemocytes.

The mussel Mytilus trossulus can develop a neoplasia of the haemolymph, which occurs with high frequency (up to 40%) in nature. Associated with this disease are pro-apoptotic tumor-suppressor protein p53 isoforms, which are highly conserved between molluscs and vertebrates. The vertebrate wildtype p53 protein is maintained at low levels by the MDM2 protein in non-stressed cells to prevent undesired apoptosis.