Double and Triple Ionisation of Isocyanic Acid.

Double and triple ionisation spectra of the reactive molecule isocyanic acid (HNCO) have been measured using multi-electron and ion coincidence techniques combined with synchrotron radiation and compared with high-level theoretical calculations. Vertical double ionisation at an energy of 32.8 ± 0.

Neurofunctional endpoints assessed in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells for estimation of acute systemic toxicity.

The objective of the EU-funded integrated project ACuteTox is to develop a strategy in which general cytotoxicity, together with organ-specific toxicity and biokinetic features, are used for the estimation of human acute systemic toxicity. Our role in the project is to characterise the effect of reference chemicals with regard to neurotoxicity. We studied cell membrane potential (CMP), noradrenalin (NA) uptake, acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity, acetylcholine receptor (AChR) signalling and voltage-operated calcium channel (VOCC) function in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells after exposure to 23 pharmaceuticals, pesticides or industrial chemicals.

Gliotoxin induces caspase-dependent neurite degeneration and calpain-mediated general cytotoxicity in differentiated human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

In this study, a significant increase by 50% in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) was observed in differentiated human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells after exposure to 0.25microM of the fungal metabolite gliotoxin for 72h. Further, the involvement of caspases and calpains was demonstrated to underlie the gliotoxin-induced cytotoxic and neurite degenerative effects.

Glutathione intensifies gliotoxin-induced cytotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

Gliotoxin is a fungal second metabolite produced by diverse species that can be found in compost, stored crops, moist animal feed and sawdust. The role of glutathione in gliotoxin-induced toxicity was studied in order to elucidate the toxic mechanisms leading to neurite degeneration and cell death in differentiated human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells. After 72 h of exposure to gliotoxin, moderate cytotoxicity was induced at 0.