Publications by authors named "Shareen Doak"

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are a desirable class of high aspect ratio nanomaterials (HARNs) owing to their extensive applications. Given their demand, the growing occupational and consumer exposure to these materials has warranted an extensive investigation into potential hazards they may pose towards human health. This study utilised both the in vitro mammalian cell gene mutation and the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assays to investigate genotoxicity in human lymphoblastoid (TK6) and 16HBE14o human lung epithelial cells, following exposure to NM-400 and NM-401 MWCNTs for 24 h.

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In 2021 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that "A concern for genotoxicity of TiO2 particles that may be present in E 171 could therefore not be ruled out.". A detailed review of the genotoxicity of titanium dioxide (TiO) was subsequently published by Kirkland et al.

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Introduction: The ability to bioprint facial cartilages could revolutionise reconstructive surgery, but identifying the optimum cell source remains one of the great challenges of tissue engineering. Tissue specific stem cells: chondroprogenitors, have been extracted previously using preferential adhesion to fibronectin based on the expression of CD49e: a perceived chondroprogenitor stem cell marker present on <1% of cartilage cells. This study sought to determine whether these fibronectin-adherent chondroprogenitor cells could be exploited for cartilage tissue engineering applications in isolation, or combined with differentiated chondrocytes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Angiogenesis involves the sprouting of endothelial cells, and in vitro modeling can be enhanced using biomaterials to encourage their migration.
  • A study was conducted using a fibrin scaffold to observe how HULEC cell line spheroids migrate when embedded, focusing on factors like fibrinogen and thrombin concentrations that affect the gel's properties.
  • Results show that higher thrombin concentrations reduce gel rigidity and promote greater cell migration, providing insights into optimizing fibrin gel conditions for studying angiogenic processes.
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This manuscript discusses the challenges of applying New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for safe by design and regulatory risk assessment of advanced nanomaterials (AdNMs). The authors propose a framework for Next Generation Risk Assessment of AdNMs involving NAMs that is aligned to the conventional risk assessment paradigm. This framework is exposure-driven, endpoint-specific, makes best use of pre-existing information, and can be implemented in tiers of increasing specificity and complexity of the adopted NAMs.

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Background: Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various clinical applications, such as tumor-targeted imaging, hyperthermia therapy, drug delivery, and live-cell tracking. However, the application of IONPs as T1 contrast agents has been restricted due to their high r2 values and r2/r1 ratios, which limit their effectiveness in T1 contrast enhancement. Notably, IONPs with diameters smaller than 5 nm, referred to as extremely small-sized IONPs (ESIONs), have demonstrated potential in overcoming these limitations.

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In this paper, we studied the potential genotoxic effects of human plasma from healthy volunteers, as well as patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, Barrett's oesophagus (BO) and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) using the oesophageal adenocarcinoma cell line (OE33) and the lymphoblastoid cell line (TK6). Both TK6 and OE33 cells were treated with plasma (10 % volume, replacing foetal bovine serum (FBS) or horse serum (HS)) at different time points of 4 h (for the micronucleus (Mn) assay and the invasion assay) and 24 h (for the cell cycle studies). Plasma-induced effects on DNA damage levels, cell viability and the cell cycle were studied by the micronucleus assay, cytokinesis block proliferation index (CBPI) and flow cytometry respectively.

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The past few decades of managing the uncertain risks associated with nanomaterials have provided valuable insights (knowledge gaps, tools, methods, etc.) that are equally important to promote safe and sustainable development and use of advanced materials. Based on these insights, the current paper proposes several actions to optimize the risk and sustainability governance of advanced materials.

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Exposure to indoor air pollutants (IAP) has increased recently, with people spending more time indoors (i.e. homes, offices, schools and transportation).

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Making research data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) is typically hampered by a lack of skills in technical aspects of data management by data generators and a lack of resources. We developed a Template Wizard for researchers to easily create templates suitable for consistently capturing data and metadata from their experiments. The templates are easy to use and enable the compilation of machine-readable metadata to accompany data generation and align them to existing community standards and databases, such as eNanoMapper, streamlining the adoption of the FAIR principles.

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This study aimed to determine whether a dynamic orbital shaking culture system could enhance the cartilage production and viability of bioengineered nasoseptal cartilage. Human nasal chondrocytes were seeded onto nanocellulose-alginate biomaterials and cultured in static or dynamic conditions for 14 days. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction for chondrogenic gene expression (type 2 collagen, aggrecan and ) was performed, demonstrating a transient rise in expression at 1 and 7 days of culture, followed by a rise at 7 and 14 days in Aggrecan (184.

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The current Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development test guideline number 487 (OECD TG No. 487) provides instruction on how to conduct the in vitro micronucleus assay. This assay is one of the gold standard approaches for measuring the mutagenicity of test items; however, it is directed at testing low molecular weight molecules and may not be appropriate for particulate materials (e.

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Chemical safety testing plays a crucial role in product and pharmacological development, as well as chemoprevention; however, in vitro genotoxicity safety tests do not always accurately predict the chemicals that will be in vivo carcinogens. If chemicals test positive in vitro for genotoxicity but negative in vivo, this can contribute to unnecessary testing in animals used to confirm erroneous in vitro positive results. Current in vitro tests typically evaluate only genotoxicity endpoints, which limits their potential to detect non-genotoxic carcinogens.

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The exposure of human lung and skin to carbon black (CB) is continuous due to its widespread applications. Current toxicological testing uses 'healthy' cellular systems; however, questions remain whether this mimics the everyday stresses that human cells are exposed to, including infection. lung and skin infections remain prevalent in society, and include pneumonia and atopic dermatitis, respectively, but current in vitro toxicological testing does not consider infection stress.

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The blood cell phosphatidylinositol glycan class A (PIG-A) gene mutation assay has been extensively researched in rodents for in vivo mutagenicity testing and is now being investigated in humans. The PIG-A gene is involved in glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchor biosynthesis. A single mutation in this X-linked gene can lead to loss of membrane-bound GPI anchors, which can be enumerated via corresponding GPI-anchored proteins (e.

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Nanocelluloses have attracted significant interest in the field of bioprinting, with previous research outlining the value of nanocellulose fibrils and bacterial nanocelluloses for 3D bioprinting tissues such as cartilage. We have recently characterised three distinct structural formulations of pulp-derived nanocelluloses: fibrillar (NFC), crystalline (NCC) and blend (NCB), exhibiting variation in pore geometry and mechanical properties. In light of the characterisation of these three distinct entities, this study investigated whether these structural differences translated to differences in printability, chondrogenicity or biocompatibility for 3D bioprinting anatomical structures with human nasoseptal chondrocytes.

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Cadmium chloride (CdCl2) is a known genotoxic carcinogen, with a mechanism of action thought to partly involve the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We applied here a multi-endpoint approach in vitro to explore the impact of CdCl2 on both the genome and on wider cell biology pathways relevant to cancer. Multi-endpoint approaches are believed to offer greater promise in terms of understanding the holistic effects of carcinogens in vitro.

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The expression of six transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate (STEAP2) is increased in prostate cancer when compared to normal tissue, suggesting a role for STEAP2 in disease progression. This study aimed to determine whether targeting STEAP2 with an anti-STEAP2 polyclonal antibody (pAb) or CRISPR/Cas9 knockout influenced aggressive prostate cancer traits. Gene expression analysis of the STEAP gene family was performed in a panel of prostate cancer cell lines; C4-2B, DU145, LNCaP and PC3.

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Genotoxicity testing for nanomaterials remains challenging as standard testing approaches require some adaptation, and further development of nano-specific OECD Test Guidelines (TGs) and Guidance Documents (GDs) are needed. However, the field of genotoxicology continues to progress and new approach methodologies (NAMs) are being developed that could provide relevant information on the range of mechanisms of genotoxic action that may be imparted by nanomaterials. There is a recognition of the need for implementation of new and/or adapted OECD TGs, new OECD GDs, and utilization of NAMs within a genotoxicity testing framework for nanomaterials.

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Background: The establishment of reliable and robust in vitro models for hazard assessment, a prerequisite for moving away from animal testing, requires the evaluation of model transferability and reproducibility. Lung models that can be exposed via the air, by means of an air-liquid interface (ALI) are promising in vitro models for evaluating the safety of nanomaterials (NMs) after inhalation exposure. We performed an inter-laboratory comparison study to evaluate the transferability and reproducibility of a lung model consisting of the human bronchial cell line Calu-3 as a monoculture and, to increase the physiologic relevance of the model, also as a co-culture with macrophages (either derived from the THP-1 monocyte cell line or from human blood monocytes).

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The micronucleus (MNvit) assay is used to evaluate the aneugenic and clastogenic potential of a test material based upon its ability to induce micronuclei in the cells. This protocol is provided for testing of nanomaterials (NM) with standard cell lines in the absence of metabolic activation. The use of cytochalasin B (CytoB) and the analysis of binucleated cells in the cytokinesis-block version of the micronucleus assay ensures that cells analyzed have undergone cell division, which is required for expression of DNA damage and micronucleus formation.

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Pancreatic cancer still has one of the worst prognoses of all solid malignancies, despite developments in cancer knowledge and care. Research into pancreatic cancer has not fully translated into clinical improvements and as a result, fewer than 1% of patients survive 10 years post-diagnosis. This bleak outlook for patients could be improved by earlier diagnosis.

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To quantitatively evaluate the inhibition of human DNA repair proteins APE1 and MTH1 by dextran-coated γ-FeO ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (dUSPIONs). : Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with isotope-dilution was used to measure the expression levels of APE1 and MTH1 in MCL-5 cells exposed to increasing doses of dUSPIONs. The expression levels of APE1 and MTH1 were measured in cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions of cell extracts.

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Due to the current relevance of pulmonary toxicology (with focus upon air pollution and the inhalation of hazardous materials), it is important to further develop and implement physiologically relevant models of the entire respiratory tract. Lung model development has the aim to create human relevant systems that may replace animal use whilst balancing cost, laborious nature and regulatory ambition. There is an imperative need to move away from rodent models and implement models that mimic the holistic characteristics important in lung function.

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