FutureTox IV Workshop Summary: Predictive Toxicology for Healthy Children.

FutureTox IV, a Society of Toxicology Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology workshop, was held in November 2018. Building upon FutureTox I, II, and III, this conference focused on the latest science and technology for in vitro profiling and in silico modeling as it relates to predictive developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART). Publicly available high-throughput screening data sets are now available for broad in vitro profiling of bioactivities across large inventories of chemicals.

Environmental Factors Involved in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality.

Nongenetic, environmental factors contribute to maternal morbidity and mortality through chemical exposures via air, water, soil, food, and consumer products. Pregnancy represents a particularly sensitive window of susceptibility during which physiological changes to every major organ system increase sensitivity to chemicals that can impact a woman's long-term health. Nonchemical stressors, such as low socioeconomic status, may exacerbate the effects of chemical exposures on maternal health.

Correction to: Parma consensus statement on metabolic disruptors.

After publication of the article [1], it has been brought to our attention that the thirteenth author of this article has had their name spelt incorrectly. In the original article the spelling "Laura Rizzir" was used. In fact the correct spelling should be "Laura Rizzi".

Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Diseases: From the Bench to the Clinic.

Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Diseases: From the Bench to the Clinic, a Society of Toxicology Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) workshop was held on March 11, 2017. The meeting was convened to raise awareness of metabolic syndrome and its associated diseases and serve as a melting pot with scientists of multiple disciplines (eg, toxicologists, clinicians, regulators) so as to spur research and understanding of this condition. The criteria for metabolic syndrome include obesity, dyslipidemia (low high-density lipoprotein and/or elevated triglycerides), elevated blood pressure, and alterations in glucose metabolism.

Minireview: Endocrine Disruptors: Past Lessons and Future Directions.

Within the past few decades, the concept of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has risen from a position of total obscurity to become a focus of dialogue, debate, and concern among scientists, physicians, regulators, and the public. The emergence and development of this field of study has not always followed a smooth path, and researchers continue to wrestle with questions about the low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses seen with EDCs, their biological mechanisms of action, the true pervasiveness of these chemicals in our environment and in our bodies, and the extent of their effects on human and wildlife health. This review chronicles the development of the unique, multidisciplinary field of endocrine disruption, highlighting what we have learned about the threat of EDCs and lessons that could be relevant to other fields.

Endocrine disruptors and obesity.

The increasing incidence of obesity is a serious global public health challenge. Although the obesity epidemic is largely fueled by poor nutrition and lack of exercise, certain chemicals have been shown to potentially have a role in its aetiology. A substantial body of evidence suggests that a subclass of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which interfere with endocrine signalling, can disrupt hormonally regulated metabolic processes, especially if exposure occurs during early development.

NIEHS/FDA CLARITY-BPA research program update.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in the production of numerous consumer products resulting in potential daily human exposure to this chemical. The FDA previously evaluated the body of BPA toxicology data and determined that BPA is safe at current exposure levels. Although consistent with the assessment of some other regulatory agencies around the world, this determination of BPA safety continues to be debated in scientific and popular publications, resulting in conflicting messages to the public.

Parma consensus statement on metabolic disruptors.

A multidisciplinary group of experts gathered in Parma Italy for a workshop hosted by the University of Parma, May 16-18, 2014 to address concerns about the potential relationship between environmental metabolic disrupting chemicals, obesity and related metabolic disorders. The objectives of the workshop were to: 1. Review findings related to the role of environmental chemicals, referred to as "metabolic disruptors", in obesity and metabolic syndrome with special attention to recent discoveries from animal model and epidemiology studies; 2.

Elucidating the links between endocrine disruptors and neurodevelopment.

Recent data indicate that approximately 12% of children in the United States are affected by neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, intellectual disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders. Accumulating evidence indicates a multifactorial etiology for these disorders, with social, physical, genetic susceptibility, nutritional factors, and chemical toxicants acting together to influence risk. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during the early stages of life can disrupt normal patterns of development and thus alter brain function and disease susceptibility later in life.

Test driving ToxCast: endocrine profiling for 1858 chemicals included in phase II.

Identifying chemicals, beyond those already implicated, to test for potential endocrine disruption is a challenge and high throughput approaches have emerged as a potential tool for this type of screening. This review focused the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ToxCast(TM) high throughput in vitro screening (HTS) program. Utility for identifying compounds was assessed and reviewed by using it to run the recently expanded chemical library (from 309 compounds to 1858) through the ToxPi(TM) prioritization scheme for endocrine disruption.

Lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities: the U.S. Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act and amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requiring the U.

SIRT4 represses peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α activity to suppress hepatic fat oxidation.

Sirtuins are a family of protein deacetylases, deacylases, and ADP-ribosyltransferases that regulate life span, control the onset of numerous age-associated diseases, and mediate metabolic homeostasis. We have uncovered a novel role for the mitochondrial sirtuin SIRT4 in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism during changes in nutrient availability. We show that SIRT4 levels decrease in the liver during fasting and that SIRT4 null mice display increased expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) target genes associated with fatty acid catabolism.

The perfect storm for obesity.

Obesity rates have risen steadily in the United States and around the world over the past century, with a marked escalation within the past two decades. Conventional wisdom within the medical community is that the burgeoning obesity epidemic is the product of poor nutrition and lack of exercise, but increasingly researchers are questioning whether those factors are wholly responsible. Emerging research about alternative factors is setting the stage for today's "Perfect Storm" for obesity.

A new approach to synergize academic and guideline-compliant research: the CLARITY-BPA research program.

Recently, medical research has seen a strong push toward translational research, or "bench to bedside" collaborations, that strive to enhance the utility of laboratory science for improving medical treatment. The success of that paradigm supports the potential application of the process to other fields, such as risk assessment. Close collaboration among academic, government, and industry scientists may enhance the translation of scientific findings to regulatory decision making.

ONE Nano: NIEHS's strategic initiative on the health and safety effects of engineered nanomaterials.

Background: The past decade has seen tremendous expansion in the production and application of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). The unique properties that make ENMs useful in the marketplace also make their interactions with biological systems difficult to anticipate and critically important to explore. Currently, little is known about the health effects of human exposure to these materials.

Fetal programming and environmental exposures: implications for prenatal care and preterm birth.

Sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and Life Technologies, "Fetal Programming and Environmental Exposures: Implications for Prenatal Care and Preterm Birth" was held on June 11-12, 2012 at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City. The meeting, comprising individual talks and panel discussions, highlighted basic, clinical, and translational research approaches, and highlighted the need for specialized testing of drugs, consumer products, and industrial chemicals, with a view to the unique impacts these can have during gestation. Speakers went on to discuss many other factors that affect prenatal development, from genetics to parental diet, revealing the extraordinary sensitivity of the developing fetus.

Consortium-based science: the NIEHS's multipronged, collaborative approach to assessing the health effects of bisphenol A.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high production volume chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic and is found in many consumer products. Some studies using animal models have suggested that BPA exposures may have adverse health effects. However, research gaps have precluded a full understanding of the effects of BPA in humans and engendered controversies surrounding the chemical's potential toxicity.

PPTOX III: environmental stressors in the developmental origins of disease--evidence and mechanisms.

Fetal and early postnatal development constitutes the most vulnerable time period of human life in regard to adverse effects of environmental hazards. Subtle effects during development can lead to functional deficits and increased disease risk later in life. The hypothesis stating that environmental exposures leads to altered programming and, thereby, to increased susceptibility to disease or dysfunction later in life has garnered much support from both experimental and epidemiological studies.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals and disease susceptibility.

Environmental chemicals have significant impacts on biological systems. Chemical exposures during early stages of development can disrupt normal patterns of development and thus dramatically alter disease susceptibility later in life. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune effects in humans.

Sirtuin 1 in lipid metabolism and obesity.

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), the mammalian ortholog of yeast Sir2, is a highly conserved NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylase that has emerged as a key metabolic sensor that directly links environmental nutrient signals to animal metabolic homeostasis. SIRT1 is known to be involved in gluconeogenesis in the liver, fat mobilization in white adipose tissue, and insulin secretion in the pancreas. Recent studies have shown SIRT1 to regulate fatty acid oxidation in the liver, sense nutrient availability in the hypothalamus, influence obesity-induced inflammation in macrophages, and modulate the activity of the circadian clock in metabolic tissues.

Myeloid deletion of SIRT1 induces inflammatory signaling in response to environmental stress.

Macrophage activation and infiltration into resident tissues is known to mediate local inflammation and is a hallmark feature of metabolic syndrome. Members of the sirtuin family of proteins regulate numerous physiological processes, including those involved in nutrient regulation and the promotion of longevity. However, the important role that SIRT1, the leading sirtuin family member, plays in immune response remains unclear.