A review of central 5-HT receptors and their function

The Serotonin Signaling System: From Basic Understanding To Drug Development for Functional GI Disorders

The rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology has offered innovative discoveries in the medical, industrial, and consumer sectors. The unique physicochemical and electrical properties of engineered nanoparticles (NP) make them highly desirable in a variety of applications. However, these novel properties of NP are fraught with concerns for environmental and occupational exposure. Changes in structural and physicochemical properties of NP can lead to changes in biological activities including ROS generation, one of the most frequently reported NP-associated toxicities. Oxidative stress induced by engineered NP is due to acellular factors such as particle surface, size, composition, and presence of metals, while cellular responses such as mitochondrial respiration, NP-cell interaction, and immune cell activation are responsible for ROS-mediated damage. NP-induced oxidative stress responses are torch bearers for further pathophysiological effects including genotoxicity, inflammation, and fibrosis as demonstrated by activation of associated cell signaling pathways. Since oxidative stress is a key determinant of NP-induced injury, it is necessary to characterize the ROS response resulting from NP. Through physicochemical characterization and understanding of the multiple signaling cascades activated by NP-induced ROS, a systemic toxicity screen with oxidative stress as a predictive model for NP-induced injury can be developed.

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Mechanisms of nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress and toxicity.

Low dose mercury toxicity and human health.

Mercury exists naturally and as a man-made contaminant. The release of processed mercury can lead to a progressive increase in the amount of atmospheric mercury, which enters the atmospheric-soil-water distribution cycles where it can remain in circulation for years. Mercury poisoning is the result of exposure to mercury or mercury compounds resulting in various toxic effects depend on its chemical form and route of exposure. The major route of human exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) is largely through eating contaminated fish, seafood, and wildlife which have been exposed to mercury through ingestion of contaminated lower organisms. MeHg toxicity is associated with nervous system damage in adults and impaired neurological development in infants and children. Ingested mercury may undergo bioaccumulation leading to progressive increases in body burdens. This review addresses the systemic pathophysiology of individual organ systems associated with mercury poisoning. Mercury has profound cellular, cardiovascular, hematological, pulmonary, renal, immunological, neurological, endocrine, reproductive, and embryonic toxicological effects.

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Environmental Mercury and Its Toxic Effects

Neurotoxicity and molecular effects of methylmercury.

Phenol, catechol, and hydroquinone, are urinary end-products of the metabolism of benzene, nutrients, drugs, and endogenous substances. Recent research demonstrated that phenol, catechol, and hydroquinone, may have themselves a role in the carcinogenicity of benzene and in mechanisms that lead to leukemia. In this respect there is the need of rapid, low-cost, and possibly direct methods to quantitate these phenolic metabolites. Three single-residue coupled-column HPLC methods with fluorimetric detection (LC-LC-FLD) are described for the direct quantitation of phenol, catechol, and hydroquinone, in human urine. After enzymatic hydrolysis of the corresponding beta-glucuronoconjugates and sulfates, urine was directly injected into the LC-LC analyzer. The LC-LC-FLD procedure allowed base-to-base separation of the target compounds from urine interferents and good linearity (r2 = 0.998) within the ranges studied (0.5–50 mg L−1 for phenol, 0.35–35 mg L−1 for catechol and 0.2–10 mg L−1 for hydroquinone). Despite the high background levels of these metabolites in human urine, within- and inter-session precision expressed as RSD% was better than 20% on spiked and on authentic urine samples obtained from benzene-exposed workers. Accuracy expressed as the recovery ratio between measured and nominal concentration in spiked urine was comprised between 93% and 115% for the three metabolites. The column switching system was fully automated and computer-controlled, and was applied to the determination of phenol, catechol, and hydroquinone in urine samples showing a sample throughput of at least 20–30 samples per day.

Direct Analysis of Phenol, Catechol and Hydroquinone in Human Urine by Coupled-Column HPLC with Fluorimetric Detection

Mercurials are global environmental pollutants deriving from natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Most human exposure to mercury occurs through the intake of fish, shellfish, and sea mammals contaminated with methylmercury. Methylmercury is bioaccumulated and biomagnified in the aquatic food chain and reaches its highest levels in top predatory fish. The neurotoxic hazard posed by methylmercury to humans and the unique susceptibility of the developing brain have been well documented following the mass poisonings occurring in Japan and Iraq. Adult cases of methylmercury poisoning are characterized by the delayed onset of symptoms and by the focal degeneration of neurons in selected brain regions (for example, cerebral cortex and cerebellum). Why the fetus displays different neuropathological effects and a higher sensitivity to methylmercury relative to the adult is still unknown. Depending on the degree of in utero exposure, methylmercury may result in effects ranging from fetal death to subtle neurodevelopmental delays. On the basis of epidemiological studies performed in populations having moderate chronic methylmercury exposure, no definitive consensus has been reached to date on the safety level of maternal exposure during pregnancy. Among the multiple mechanisms believed to contribute to methylmercury neurotoxicity, methylmercury-induced microtubule alterations, oxidative damage, impairment of calcium homeostasis, and the potentiation of glutamatergic neurotransmission are presented in this review.

Neurotoxic and molecular effects of methylmercury in humans.

Human developmental neurotoxicity of methylmercury: impact of variables and risk modifiers.

Effects of water-soluble functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes examined by different cytotoxicity methods in human astrocyte D384 and lung A549 cells

Teresa Coccini

Papers

Neurotoxicity and molecular effects of methylmercury.

Direct Analysis of Phenol, Catechol and Hydroquinone in Human Urine by Coupled-Column HPLC with Fluorimetric Detection

Neurotoxic and molecular effects of methylmercury in humans.

Human developmental neurotoxicity of methylmercury: impact of variables and risk modifiers.

Effects of water-soluble functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes examined by different cytotoxicity methods in human astrocyte D384 and lung A549 cells