Cardiotoxicity is a critical concern in the use of several cytotoxic drugs. Induction of apoptosis, inflammation, and autophagy following dysregulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway contributes ...to the cardiac damage induced by these drugs. Several natural compounds (NCs), including ferulic acid, gingerol, salvianolic acid B, paeonol, apigenin, calycosin, rutin, neferine, higenamine, vincristine, micheliolide, astragaloside IV, and astragalus polysaccharide, have been reported to suppress cytotoxic drug‐induced cardiac injury. This article reviews these NCs that have been reported to have a protective effect against cytotoxic drug‐induced cardiotoxicity through regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
Bats represent a substantial contribution to mammalian species diversity and ecosystem processes in North America, including their role in performing important economic service functions. The ...development and expansion of wind energy facilities is a key threat to bat populations in North America. Dead bats are being found underneath wind turbines across North America, and bat fatalities have been documented at almost all of the wind facilities at which thorough bat surveys have been conducted. The results suggest that thousands of bats may be killed annually at some wind facilities, and recent estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of bats may be killed annually in the contiguous United States. Here, I use published bat fatality information to derive estimates of the number of bats killed at wind energy facilities in the contiguous United States in 2012 and conclude that over 600,000 bats may have died as a result of interactions with wind turbines.
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Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NMLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Rotenone is a widely used organic pesticide; its serious side effect for off‐target species is neurotoxicity. The primary mechanism of rotenone toxicity is inhibition of the mitochondrial complex I. ...Oxidative stress, apoptosis, and reduction of autophagy are key outcomes of the inhibition of complex I. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have shown antioxidant, anti‐apoptotic, and autophagy enhancement of a variety of natural compounds (NCs). In this manuscript, we reviewed several NCs, which have protective effects against rotenone‐induced neurotoxicity.
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The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a cellular organelle with multiple functions, plays an important role in several biological processes including protein folding, secretion, lipid ...biosynthesis, calcium homeostasis, and cellular stress. Accumulation of misfolded or unfolded proteins in the ER makes cells undergo a stress response known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). UPR is initially protective. However, prolonged and severe ER stress can lead to autophagy and/or the induction of apoptosis in stressed cell. Many studies have demonstrated that ER stress and the UPR are involved in different diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases. Curcumin, a natural polyphenol, has well documented evidence supporting its numerous biological properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory, anti-microbial, anti-ischemic, anti-angiogenesis, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, anti-atherogenic and anti-diabetic activities. In this review, the role of ER stress in several pathological condition and the potential protective effects of curcumin are discussed.
Tetrabromobisphenol A (2,2′,6,6′-tetrabromo-4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol, CAS no. 79-94-7) (TBBPA) is an effective brominated flame retardant present in many consumer products whose effectiveness is ...attributable to its ability to retard flames and consequently save human lives. Toxicokinetic studies revealed that TBBPA when absorbed via the gastrointestinal tract is rapidly metabolized to glucuronide or sulfate metabolites which are rapidly eliminated by the kidney. TBBPA does not accumulate in the body and there is no evidence that the parent compound is present in the brain. Although this brominated flame retardant was detected in human breast milk and serum, there was no evidence that TBBPA reached the brain in in vivo animal studies as reflected by the absence of neuropathological, neurotoxic, or behavioral alterations indicating that the central nervous system is not a target tissue. These animal investigations were further supported by use of the larval/embryo observations that TBBPA did not produce behavioral changes in a larval/embryo zebrafish a model of chemical-induced neurotoxicity. Although some protein expressions were increased, deceased or not affected in the blood–brain barrier indicating no evidence that TBBPA entered the brain, the changes were contradictory, or gender related, and behavior was not affected supporting that this compound was not neurotoxic. Taken together, TBBPA does not appear to target the brain and is not considered as a neurotoxicant.
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Acute lung injury (ALI) is a pulmonary illness with high rates of mortality and morbidity. Rho GTPase and its downstream effector, Rho kinase (ROCK), have been demonstrated to be ...involved in cell adhesion, motility, and contraction which can play a role in ALI. The electronic databases of Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched to obtain relevant studies regarding the role of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway in the pathophysiology of ALI and the effects of specific Rho kinase inhibitors in prevention and treatment of ALI. Upregulation of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway causes an increase of inflammation, immune cell migration, apoptosis, coagulation, contraction, and cell adhesion in pulmonary endothelial cells. These effects are involved in endothelium barrier dysfunction and edema, hallmarks of ALI. These effects were significantly reversed by Rho kinase inhibitors. Rho kinase inhibition offers a promising approach in ALI ARDS treatment.
•Mycotoxins in food are unavoidable and global environmental conditions may increase mycotoxin presence in foods.•Infants and other susceptible populations have a higher risk of suffering mycotoxin ...effects.•Forthcoming global mycotoxin regulations and technology advances can help us managing mycotoxins risks.
Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungal species that commonly contaminate staple foods and feeds. They represent an unavoidable problem due to their presence in globally consumed cereals such as rice, maize and wheat. Most mycotoxins are immunosuppressive agents and some are carcinogens, hepatotoxins, nephrotoxins, and neurotoxins. Worldwide trends envision a stricter control of mycotoxins, however, the changing global environment may not be the ideal setting to control and reduce the exposure to these toxins. Although new technologies allow us to inspect the multi-mycotoxin presence in foods, new sources of exposure, gaps in knowledge of mycotoxins interactions, appearance of “emergent” mycotoxins and elucidation of consequent health effects can complicate their control even more. While humans are adapting to cope with environmental changes, such as food scarcity, decreased food quality, mycotoxin regulations, crop production and seasonality, and other climate related modifications, fungal species are also adapting and increased cases of mycotoxin adverse health effects are likely to occur in the future. To guarantee access to quality food for all, we need a way to balance global mycotoxin standards with the realistic feasibility of reaching them, considering limitations of producers and designing strategies to reduce mycotoxin exposure based on sound research.
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The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the site of production and folding of secreted, membrane bound and some organelle targeted proteins. Accumulation of misfolded or unfolded proteins ...in the ER makes cells undergo a stress response known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). UPR is initially protective. However, prolonged and severe ER stress can lead to the induction of apoptosis in stressed cells. Cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial ischemia accounts for substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Accumulating evidence suggests that aberrant cardiac cell death caused by ER stress is often associated with structural or functional cardiac abnormalities. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that mediate posttranscriptional gene silencing. The miRNAs play important roles in regulating cardiac physiological and pathological events such as hypertrophy, apoptosis, and heart failure. In this review, we discussed the role of microRNAs on Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in myocardial ischemia and cardiac hypertrophy to demonstrate the relation between microRNAs and the ER in cardiac cells providing potential new treatment strategies and improvement of survival.
We examine uncertainties in the analysis of the reactor neutrino anomaly, wherein it is suggested that only about 94% of the emitted antineutrino flux was detected in short baseline experiments. We ...find that the form of the corrections that lead to the anomaly are very uncertain for the 30% of the flux that arises from forbidden decays. This uncertainty was estimated in four ways, is as large as the size of the anomaly, and is unlikely to be reduced without accurate direct measurements of the antineutrino flux. Given the present lack of detailed knowledge of the structure of the forbidden transitions, it is not possible to convert the measured aggregate fission beta spectra to antineutrino spectra to the accuracy needed to infer an anomaly. Neutrino physics conclusions based on the original anomaly need to be revisited, as do oscillation analyses that assumed that the antineutrino flux is known to better than approximately 4%.
Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid that is widely distributed in the earth’s crust. People are continuously exposed to this toxicant in their food and drinking water. Inorganic arsenic occurs in two ...oxidation states, arsenite 3
+
(iAs
3+
) and arsenate 5
+
(iAs
5+
). The most toxic form is its trivalent form which interferes with the electron transfer cycle and induces overproduction of reactive oxygen species, leading to depletion of the antioxidant defense system, as well as altering fatty acid levels and mitochondrial action. Since arsenic crosses the blood–brain barrier, it can damage cells in different regions of the brain, causing neurological disorders through the induction of oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and cell death. Hydroxytyrosol, taurine, alpha-lipoic acid, ellagic acid, and thymoquinone have been shown to effectively alleviate arsenic-induced neurotoxicity. The protective effects are the result of the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of the phytochemicals and in particular their anti-apoptotic function via the Nrf2 and PI3/Akt/SIRT1 signaling pathways.
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