Associations between serum polychlorinated biphenyls, halogen flame retardants, and renal function indexes in residents of an e-waste recycling area.

E-waste handling activities release large quantities of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and halogen flame retardants (HFRs) into the surrounding area, creating a high exposure risk for local residents. However, the possibility of PCBs and HFRs exposure contributing to renal injury has not been extensively studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted an epidemiological analysis of adolescents and adults recruited from an e-waste recycling area and a control area.

Contribution of heavy metals in PM to cardiovascular disease mortality risk, a case study in Guangzhou, China.

Heavy metals play an important role in inducing fine particulate matter (PM) related cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, most of the past researches concerned the associations between CVD mortality and the PM mass, which may not reveal the CVD mortality risk contributed by heavy metals in PM. This study explored the correlations between individual heavy metals in PM and CVD mortality, identified the heavy metals that significantly contribute to PM-related CVD, heart disease (HD), and cerebrovascular disease (CEV) mortality, and attempted to establish corresponding source control measures.

Double-endpoint Genotoxicity Quantification and PAHs Characterization of Drinking Water Source alongside Polluted Yinghe River with High Tumor Mortality.

The etiology for the high tumor mortality in heavy polluted Yinghe river basin is still unclear and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) belong to the priority pollutants in water based on the former surveillance data. In order to explore the potential genotoxicants contributing to the double-endpoint genotoxicity of polluted drinking water source, 12 groundwater and 3 surface water samples were collected from 3 villages and the nearby rivers alongside Yinghe river basin, respectively and their comprehensive genotoxicity was estimated with a bioassay group of SOS/umu test and micronucleus (MN) test (MNT). Some groundwater samples showed positive genotoxicity and all surface water samples were highly genotoxic.

MicroRNA‑126 is downregulated in thyroid cancer cells, and regulates proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting CXCR4.

MicroRNA-126 (miR-126) has previously been reported to be downregulated in various types of cancer; however, at present, there are no studies of miR‑126 in human thyroid cancer. The present study aimed to determine the expression and effects of miR‑126 on thyroid cancer. The expression levels of miR‑126 were detected in human thyroid cancer tissues, matched normal adjacent tissues and human thyroid cancer cell lines using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Quantification for total demethylation potential of environmental samples utilizing the EGFP reporter gene.

The demethylation potential of pollutants is arguably an innate component of their toxicity in environmental samples. A method was developed for determining the total demethylation potential of food samples (TDQ). The demethylation epigenetic toxicity was determined using the Hep G2 cell line transfected with pEGFP-C3 plasmids containing a methylated promoter of the EGFP reporter gene.

A novel quantification method for the total demethylation potential of aquatic sample extracts from Bohai Bay using the EGFP reporter gene.

Background: The demethylation potential of environmental pollutants is possibly an innate part of their comprehensive health risk. This paper develops a novel method called TDQ to quantify the demethylation epigenetic toxicity, termed the 5-AZA-CdR demethylation toxic equivalency, of aquatic samples from the heavily polluted Bohai Bay using Hep G2 cell lines transiently transfected with the pEGFP-C3 plasmid containing a methylated promoter of the EGFP reporter gene inserted artificially in vitro.

Results: If the aquatic sample extract has strong total demethylation potential to the promoter, its methylation level will decrease, and increased green fluorescence will be observed under microscopy after TDQ co-incubation.

Comparative analysis of cloned cDNAs encoding Chinese yellow cattle and Gansu black swine integrin receptors for foot-and-mouth disease virus.

To analyze foot-and-mouth disease virus tropism and host range with respect to the integrin receptor, we cloned cDNAs encoding the integrin αν, β1, β3, β6 and β8 subunits from Chinese yellow cattle and Gansu black swine and carried out comparative analysis of their molecular characteristics. The lengths of the mature proteins and the functional domains of the four integrin β subunits were the same between bovine and swine; however, the number of putative N-linked glycosylation sites and cysteine residues and their arrangement varied. Homology analysis of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences showed that FMDV integrin receptors of Chinese yellow cattle and Gansu black swine are highly conserved.