1  5568 158 ROLE OF MARIJUANA COMPONENTS ON THE REGENERATIVE ABILITY OF STEM CELLS. STEM CELL THERAPY PROMOTES TISSUE REGENERATION AND WOUND HEALING. EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO PRIME STEM CELLS TO ENHANCE THEIR REGENERATIVE ABILITIES. CERTAIN MARIJUANA COMPONENTS, NAMELY THE NON-PSYCHOACTIVE CANNABIDIOL (CBD) AND PSYCHOACTIVE TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC), ARE DEFINED AS IMMUNOMODULATORS.(9) WE TEST WHETHER TWO SOURCES OF STEM CELLS, PRIMED WITH CBD OR THC, WOULD DEMONSTRATE IMPROVED REGENERATIVE ABILITIES. HUMAN ADIPOSE-DERIVED STEM CELLS (ASCS) AND BONE MARROW-DERIVED STEM CELLS (BMDSCS), NOT OBTAINED FROM THE SAME INDIVIDUAL, WERE TREATED WITH LOW (300 NM) OR HIGH (3 MUM) CONCENTRATION CBD. PORCINE ASCS AND BMDSCS WERE ISOLATED FROM A SINGLE PIG, AND TREATED WITH EITHER LOW OR HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF CBD OR THC. TRANSWELL MIGRATION AND MTT PROLIFERATION ASSAYS WERE PERFORMED ON THE HUMAN ASCS AND BMDSCS. ALSO, TRANSWELL MIGRATION ASSAY WAS PERFORMED ON THE PORCINE ASCS AND BMDSCS. FINALLY, A WOUND HEALING SCRATCH ASSAY IN PORCINE PRIMARY FIBROBLASTS (PFS) WAS PERFORMED, CO-CULTURED WITH THE CANNABINOID-TREATED ASCS. CBD PRIMING AT LOW CONCENTRATION INDUCES MIGRATION BY 180% (P < .01) IN PORCINE ASCS, AND BY ONLY 93% (P < .02) IN PORCINE BMDSCS. IN PORCINE STEM CELLS, THC PRIMING AT LOW CONCENTRATION INDUCES MIGRATION BY 91.6% (P < .01) IN ASCS BUT BY ONLY 44.3% (P < .03) IN BMDSCS. COMPARED TO PFS CO-CULTURED WITH UNTREATED ASCS, PFS CO-CULTURED WITH LOW CBD-PRIMED ASCS HAD 75% FASTER WOUND CLOSURE AT 18 HOURS (P < .01). CBD AND THC PRIMING OF ASCS AND BMDSCS, PARTICULARLY AT LOWER DOSES, ENHANCES A NUMBER OF REGENERATIVE PARAMETERS, SUGGESTING THAT THESE MAJOR MARIJUANA COMPONENTS MAY IMPROVE STEM CELL-BASED THERAPIES. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: OUR STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT CANNABINOIDS CAN ENHANCE THE REGENERATIVE CAPACITY OF TWO MAJOR SOURCES OF STEM CELLS, ADIPOSE- AND BONE MARROW-DERIVED, FROM HUMAN AND PORCINE DONORS. STEM CELL ISOLATION AND EXPANSION IS INVASIVE, COSTLY AND TIME CONSUMING. STEM CELLS WITH IMPROVED REGENERATIVE PROPERTIES MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE OR CHRONIC WOUNDS. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO COMPARE THE PRIMING POTENTIAL OF TWO SOURCES OF STEM CELLS FROM THE SAME ANIMAL, WITH THE SAME GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PROFILE, AS WELL AS THE FIRST TO PRIME WITH THC.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
2  3478  32 IDENTIFICATION OF ADPKD-RELATED GENES AND PATHWAYS IN CELLS OVEREXPRESSING PKD2. CONSISTENT WITH THE GENE DOSAGE EFFECT HYPOTHESIS, RENAL CYSTS CAN ARISE IN TRANSGENIC MURINE MODELS OVEREXPRESSING EITHER PKD1 OR PKD2, WHICH ARE CAUSAL GENES FOR AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE (ADPKD). TO DETERMINE WHETHER PKD GENE OVEREXPRESSION IS A UNIVERSAL MECHANISM DRIVING CYSTOGENESIS OR IS MERELY RESTRICTED TO RODENTS, OTHER ANIMAL MODELS ARE REQUIRED. PREVIOUSLY, WE FAILED TO OBSERVE ANY RENAL CYSTS IN A TRANSGENIC PORCINE MODEL OF PKD2 OVEREXPRESSION PARTIALLY DUE TO EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF THE TRANSGENE. THUS, TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF PORCINE MODELS AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL GENES/PATHWAYS AFFECTED IN ADPKD, LLC-PK1 CELLS WITH HIGH PKD2 EXPRESSION WERE GENERATED. MRNA SEQUENCING (RNA-SEQ) WAS PERFORMED, AND MYC, IER3, AND ADM WERE FOUND TO BE UPREGULATED GENES COMMON TO THE DIFFERENT PKD2 OVEREXPRESSION CELL MODELS. MYC IS A WELL-CHARACTERIZED FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO CYSTOGENESIS, AND ADM IS A BIOMARKER FOR CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. THUS, THESE GENES MIGHT BE INDICATORS OF DISEASE PROGRESSION. ADDITIONALLY, SOME ADPKD-ASSOCIATED PATHWAYS, E.G., THE MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE (MAPK) PATHWAY, WERE ENRICHED IN THE CELLS. MOREOVER, GENE ONTOLOGY (GO) ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED THAT PROLIFERATION, APOPTOSIS, AND CELL CYCLE REGULATION, WHICH ARE HALLMARKS OF ADPKD, WERE ALTERED. THEREFORE, OUR EXPERIMENT IDENTIFIED SOME BIOMARKERS OR INDICATORS OF ADPKD, INDICATING THAT HIGH PKD2 EXPRESSION WOULD LIKELY DRIVE CYSTOGENESIS IN FUTURE PORCINE MODELS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
3  4822  25 OCHRATOXIN A: 50 YEARS OF RESEARCH. SINCE OCHRATOXIN A (OTA) WAS DISCOVERED, IT HAS BEEN UBIQUITOUS AS A NATURAL CONTAMINANT OF MOLDY FOOD AND FEED. THE MULTIPLE TOXIC EFFECTS OF OTA ARE A REAL THREAT FOR HUMAN BEINGS AND ANIMAL HEALTH. FOR EXAMPLE, OTA CAN CAUSE PORCINE NEPHROPATHY BUT CAN ALSO DAMAGE POULTRIES. HUMANS EXPOSED TO OTA CAN DEVELOP (NOTABLY BY INHALATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACUTE RENAL FAILURE WITHIN 24 H) A RANGE OF CHRONIC DISORDERS SUCH AS UPPER UROTHELIAL CARCINOMA. OTA PLAYS THE MAIN ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF SOME RENAL DISEASES INCLUDING BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY, KIDNEY TUMORS OCCURRING IN CERTAIN ENDEMIC REGIONS OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA, AND CHRONIC INTERSTITIAL NEPHROPATHY OCCURRING IN NORTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND LIKELY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. OTA LEADS TO DNA ADDUCT FORMATION, WHICH IS KNOWN FOR ITS GENOTOXICITY AND CARCINOGENICITY. THE PRESENT ARTICLE DISCUSSES HOW RENAL CARCINOGENICITY AND NEPHROTOXICITY CAUSE BOTH OXIDATIVE STRESS AND DIRECT GENOTOXICITY. CAREFUL ANALYSES OF THE DATA SHOW THAT OTA CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS ARE DUE TO COMBINED DIRECT AND INDIRECT MECHANISMS (E.G., GENOTOXICITY, OXIDATIVE STRESS, EPIGENETIC FACTORS). ALTOGETHER THIS PROVIDES STRONG EVIDENCE THAT OTA CARCINOGENICITY CAN ALSO OCCUR IN HUMANS.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
4  2302  31 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CANCER STEM CELL MARKER CD133 BY TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA. HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC) IS THE THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER MORTALITY WORLDWIDE. CD133, A TRANSMEMBRANE GLYCOPROTEIN, IS AN IMPORTANT CELL SURFACE MARKER FOR BOTH STEM CELLS AND CANCER STEM CELLS IN VARIOUS TISSUES INCLUDING LIVER. CD133 EXPRESSION HAS BEEN RECENTLY LINKED TO POOR PROGNOSIS IN HCC PATIENTS. CD133+ LIVER CANCER CELLS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY RESISTANCE TO CHEMOTHERAPY, SELF-RENEWAL, MULTILINEAGE POTENTIAL, INCREASED COLONY FORMATION, AND IN VIVO CANCER INITIATION AT LIMITED DILUTION. RECENT STUDIES DEMONSTRATE THAT CD133 EXPRESSION IS REGULATED BY DNA METHYLATION. IN THIS STUDY, WE EXPLORED THE ROLE OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA (TGFBETA), A MULTIFUNCTIONAL CYTOKINE THAT PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN CHRONIC LIVER INJURY, IN THE REGULATION OF CD133 EXPRESSION. TGFBETA1 IS CAPABLE OF UP-REGULATING CD133 EXPRESSION SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THE HUH7 HCC CELL LINE IN A TIME- AND DOSE-DEPENDENT MANNER. MOST IMPORTANT, TGFBETA1-INDUCED CD133+ HUH7 CELLS DEMONSTRATE INCREASED TUMOR INITIATION IN VIVO. FORCED EXPRESSION OF INHIBITORY SMADS, INCLUDING SMAD6 AND SMAD7, ATTENUATED TGFBETA1-INDUCED CD133 EXPRESSION. WITHIN CD133- HUH7 CELLS, TGFBETA1 STIMULATION INHIBITED THE EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMT) 1 AND DNMT3BETA, WHICH ARE CRITICAL IN THE MAINTENANCE OF REGIONAL DNA METHYLATION, AND GLOBAL DNMT ACTIVITY IN CD133- HUH7 CELLS WAS INHIBITED BY TGFBETA1. DNMT3BETA INHIBITION BY TGFBETA1 WAS PARTIALLY RESCUED WITH OVEREXPRESSION OF INHIBITORY SMADS. LASTLY, TGFBETA1 TREATMENT LED TO SIGNIFICANT DEMETHYLATION IN CD133 PROMOTER-1 IN CD133- HUH7 CELLS. CONCLUSION: TGFBETA1 IS ABLE TO REGULATE CD133 EXPRESSION THROUGH INHIBITION OF DNMT1 AND DNMT3BETA EXPRESSION AND SUBSEQUENT DEMETHYLATION OF PROMOTER-1. TGFBETA1-INDUCED CD133+ HUH7 CELLS ARE TUMORIGENIC. THE MECHANISM BY WHICH TGFBETA INDUCES CD133 EXPRESSION IS PARTIALLY DEPENDENT ON THE SMADS PATHWAY.	2010	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
5  1819  25 EFFECTS OF CHRONIC OCHRATOXIN A EXPOSURE ON P53 HETEROZYGOUS AND P53 HOMOZYGOUS MICE. EXPOSURE TO THE MYCOTOXIN OCHRATOXIN A (OTA) CAUSES NEPHROPATHY IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND RODENTS AND RENAL TUMORS IN RODENTS AND POULTRY. HUMANS ARE EXPOSED TO OTA BY CONSUMING FOODS MADE WITH CONTAMINATED CEREAL GRAINS AND OTHER COMMODITIES. MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN HEALTH RISKS DUE TO OTA EXPOSURE DEPENDS, IN PART, ON ESTABLISHING A MODE OF ACTION (MOA) FOR OTA CARCINOGENESIS. TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE OTA'S MOA, P53 HETEROZYGOUS (P53+/-) AND P53 HOMOZYGOUS (P53+/+) MICE WERE EXPOSED TO OTA IN DIET FOR 26 WEEKS. THE FORMER ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO TUMORIGENESIS UPON CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO GENOTOXIC CARCINOGENS. OTA-INDUCED RENAL DAMAGE BUT NO TUMORS WERE OBSERVED IN EITHER STRAIN, INDICATING THAT P53 HETEROZYGOSITY CONFERRED LITTLE ADDITIONAL SENSITIVITY TO OTA. RENAL CHANGES INCLUDED DOSE-DEPENDENT INCREASES IN CELLULAR PROLIFERATION, APOPTOSIS, KARYOMEGALY, AND TUBULAR DEGENERATION IN PROXIMAL TUBULES, WHICH WERE CONSISTENT WITH OCHRATOXICOSIS. THE LOWEST OBSERVED EFFECT LEVEL FOR RENAL CHANGES IN P53+/- AND P53+/+ MICE WAS 200 MUG OTA/KG BW/DAY. BASED ON THE LACK OF TUMORS AND THE SEVERITY OF RENAL AND BODY WEIGHT CHANGES AT A MAXIMUM TOLERATED DOSE, THE RESULTS WERE INTERPRETED AS SUGGESTIVE OF A PRIMARILY NONGENOTOXIC (EPIGENETIC) MOA FOR OTA CARCINOGENESIS IN THIS MOUSE MODEL.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
6  4820  30 OCHRATOXIN A AS A POTENTIAL ETIOLOGIC FACTOR IN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY: LESSONS FROM TOXICITY STUDIES IN RATS. VARIOUS REPORTS SUGGEST THAT CHRONIC DIETARY EXPOSURE TO OCHRATOXIN A (OTA), A MYCOTOXIN FREQUENTLY DETECTED IN VARIOUS FOOD ITEMS MAY BE LINKED TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY, A CHRONIC TUBULOINTERSTITIAL KIDNEY DISEASE WHICH OCCURS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITED AREAS OF THE BALKAN REGION. OTA IS A POTENT NEPHROTOXIN AND RENAL CARCINOGEN. HOWEVER, THE PATHOLOGICAL LESIONS OBSERVED IN KIDNEYS OF RATS TREATED WITH OTA APPEAR BE RATHER DIFFERENT FROM THE CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY. MOREOVER, INCREASING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT OTA DOES NOT BIND TO DNA BUT INDUCES TUMORS BY AN EPIGENETIC, THRESHOLDED MECHANISM. THIS IMPLIES THAT THERE IS A DOSE BELOW WHICH NO ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR. BASED ON FOOD CONSUMPTION DATA AND OTA SERUM CONCENTRATIONS, IT APPEARS THAT HUMAN EXPOSURE - EVEN IN AREAS WITH RELATIVELY HIGH DIETARY EXPOSURE TO OTA SUCH AS ENDEMIC VILLAGES - IS SEVERAL ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE BELOW DOSES KNOWN TO CAUSE NEPHROTOXICITY AND TUMOR FORMATION IN LABORATORY ANIMALS. WHILE IT IS UNDOUBTEDLY IMPORTANT TO ENCOURAGE PREVENTION OF FOOD CONTAMINATION BY OTA AND OTHER MYCOTOXINS, THESE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT OTA IS NOT LIKELY TO BE AN ETIOLOGICAL FACTOR INVOLVED IN BEN AND INDICATE A NEED TO SEARCH FOR NEW CLUES FOR THE ETIOLOGY OF THIS ENDEMIC KIDNEY DISEASE.	2007	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
7   399  43 ANABOLIC STEROIDS-DRIVEN REGULATION OF PORCINE OVARIAN PUTATIVE STEM CELLS FAVORS THE ONSET OF THEIR NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATION. NANDROLONE (NDN) AND BOLDENONE (BDN), THE SYNTHETIC TESTOSTERONE ANALOGUES WITH STRONG ANABOLIC EFFECTS, DESPITE BEING RECOGNIZED AS POTENTIALLY CARCINOGENIC COMPOUNDS, ARE COMMONLY ABUSED BY ATHLETES AND BODYBUILDERS, WHICH INCLUDES WOMEN, WORLDWIDE. THIS STUDY TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT DIFFERENT DOSES OF NDN AND BDN CAN INITIATE NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATION OF PORCINE OVARIAN PUTATIVE STEM CELLS (POPSCS). IMMUNOMAGNETICALLY ISOLATED POPSCS WERE EXPANDED EX VIVO IN THE PRESENCE OF NDN OR BDN, FOR 7 AND 14 DAYS. RESULTS SHOW THAT PHARMACOLOGICAL DOSES OF BOTH NDN AND BDN, ALREADY AFTER 7 DAYS OF POPSCS CULTURE, CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF SELECTED, STEMNESS-RELATED MARKERS OF CANCER CELLS: CD44 AND CD133. NOTABLY, NDN ALSO NEGATIVELY AFFECTED POPSCS GROWTH NOT ONLY BY SUPPRESSING THEIR PROLIFERATION AND MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION BUT ALSO BY INDUCING APOPTOSIS. THIS OBSERVATION SHOWS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO NDN OR BDN REPRESENTS A PRECONDITION THAT MIGHT ENHANCE RISK OF POPSCS NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATION. THESE STUDIES CARRIED OUT TO ACCOMPLISH DETAILED MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE EX VIVO EXPANDED POPSCS AND THEIR POTENTIALLY CANCEROUS DERIVATIVES (PCDS) MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO DETERMINE THEIR SUITABILITY AS NUCLEAR DONOR CELLS (NDCS) FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS FOCUSED ON CLONING BY SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER (SCNT). SUCH INVESTIGATIONS MIGHT ALSO BE INDISPENSABLE TO ESTIMATE THE CAPABILITIES OF NUCLEAR GENOMES INHERITED FROM POPSCS AND THEIR PCDS TO BE EPIGENETICALLY REPROGRAMMED (DEDIFFERENTIATED) IN CLONED PIG EMBRYOS GENERATED BY SCNT. THIS MIGHT OPEN UP NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AIMED AT MORE COMPREHENSIVELY RECOGNIZING GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING NOT ONLY TUMORIGENESIS BUT ALSO REVERSAL/RETARDATION OF PRO-TUMORIGENIC INTRACELLULAR EVENTS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
8  5743  35 SMOKING SUPPRESSES THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF ADIPOSE STEM CELLS IN CROHN'S DISEASE PATIENTS THROUGH EPIGENETIC CHANGES. PATIENTS WITH CROHN'S DISEASE (CD) WHO SMOKE ARE KNOWN TO HAVE A WORSE PROGNOSIS THAN NEVER-SMOKERS AND A HIGHER RISK FOR POST-SURGICAL RECURRENCE, WHEREAS PATIENTS WHO QUIT SMOKING AFTER SURGERY HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER POST-OPERATIVE RECURRENCE. THE HYPOTHESIS WAS THAT SMOKING INDUCES EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT IMPAIR THE CAPACITY OF ADIPOSE STEM CELLS (ASCS) TO SUPPRESS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. IT WAS ALSO QUESTIONED WHETHER THIS IMPAIRMENT REMAINS IN EX-SMOKERS WITH CD. ASCS WERE ISOLATED FROM NON-SMOKERS, SMOKERS AND EX-SMOKERS WITH CD AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH IMMUNE CELLS WERE STUDIED. THE ASCS FROM BOTH SMOKERS AND EX-SMOKERS PROMOTED MACROPHAGE POLARIZATION TO AN M1 PRO-INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE, WERE NOT ABLE TO INHIBIT T- AND B-CELL PROLIFERATION IN VITRO AND ENHANCED THE GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS INCLUDING INTERLEUKIN-1B. GENOME-WIDE EPIGENETIC ANALYSIS USING TWO DIFFERENT BIOINFORMATIC APPROACHES REVEALED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE METHYLATION PATTERNS OF GENES THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR WOUND HEALING, IMMUNE AND METABOLIC RESPONSE AND P53-MEDIATED DNA DAMAGE RESPONSE IN ASCS FROM SMOKERS AND EX-SMOKERS WITH CD. IN CONCLUSION, CIGARETTE SMOKING INDUCES A PRO-INFLAMMATORY EPIGENETIC SIGNATURE IN ASCS THAT LIKELY COMPROMISES THEIR THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
9  4821  33 OCHRATOXIN A: 13-WEEK ORAL TOXICITY AND CELL PROLIFERATION IN MALE F344/N RATS. OCHRATOXIN A (OTA) IS NEPHROTOXIC AND A POTENT RENAL CARCINOGEN. MALE RATS ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO OTA TOXICITY, AND CHRONIC ADMINISTRATION OF OTA (70 AND 210 MICROG/KG BW) FOR 2 YEARS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO INDUCE HIGH INCIDENCES OF ADENOMAS AND CARCINOMAS ARISING FROM THE STRAIGHT SEGMENT OF THE PROXIMAL TUBULE EPITHELIUM. IN CONTRAST, TREATMENT WITH A LOWER DOSE OF 21 MICROG/KG BW DID NOT RESULT IN INCREASED TUMOR RATES, SUGGESTING A NONLINEAR DOSE RESPONSE FOR RENAL TUMOR FORMATION BY OTA. SINCE THE MECHANISM OF OTA CARCINOGENICITY IS STILL LARGELY UNKNOWN, THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE EARLY FUNCTIONAL AND PATHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OTA AND TO DETERMINE IF SUSTAINED STIMULATION OF RENAL CELL PROLIFERATION PLAYS A ROLE. MALE F344/N RATS WERE TREATED WITH OTA FOR UP TO 13 WEEKS UNDER CONDITIONS OF THE NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM (NTP) BIOASSAY. CELL PROLIFERATION IN THE RENAL CORTEX AND OUTER STRIPE OF THE OUTER MEDULLA (OSOM) WAS DETERMINED USING BROMODEOXYURIDINE INCORPORATION AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY. HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION SHOWED RENAL ALTERATIONS IN MID- AND HIGH-DOSE-TREATED ANIMALS INVOLVING SINGLE-CELL DEATH AND PROMINENT NUCLEAR ENLARGEMENT WITHIN THE STRAIGHT PROXIMAL TUBULES. TREATMENT WITH OTA AT DOSES OF 70 AND 210 MICROG/KG BW LED TO A MARKED DOSE- AND TIME-DEPENDENT INCREASE IN RENAL CELL PROLIFERATION, EXTENDING FROM THE MEDULLARY RAYS INTO THE OSOM. NO EFFECTS WERE EVIDENT IN KIDNEYS OF LOW-DOSE-TREATED ANIMALS OR IN THE LIVER, WHICH IS NOT A TARGET FOR OTA CARCINOGENICITY. A NO OBSERVED EFFECT LEVEL IN THIS STUDY WAS ESTABLISHED AT 21 MICROG/KG BW, CORRELATING WITH THE DOSE IN THE NTP 2-YEAR BIOASSAY THAT DID NOT PRODUCE RENAL TUMORS. THE APPARENT CORRELATION BETWEEN ENHANCED CELL TURNOVER AND TUMOR FORMATION INDUCED BY OTA INDICATES THAT STIMULATION OF CELL PROLIFERATION MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN OTA CARCINOGENICITY AND PROVIDES FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR AN EPIGENETIC, THRESHOLDED MECHANISM.	2007	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
10  4824  27 OCHRATOXIN A: THE CONTINUING ENIGMA. THE MYCOTOXIN OCHRATOXIN A (OTA) HAS BEEN LINKED TO THE GENESIS OF SEVERAL DISEASE STATES IN BOTH ANIMALS AND HUMANS. IT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS NEPHROTOXIC, CARCINOGENIC, TERATOGENIC, IMMUNOTOXIC, AND HEPATOTOXIC IN LABORATORY AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS, AS WELL AS BEING THOUGHT TO BE THE PROBABLE CAUSAL AGENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEPHROPATHIES (BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY, BEN AND CHRONIC INTERSTITIAL NEPHROPATHY, CIN) AND UROTHELIAL TUMORS IN HUMANS. AS A RESULT, SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES ARE CURRENTLY ATTEMPTING TO DEFINE SAFE LEGAL LIMITS FOR OTA CONCENTRATION IN FOODSTUFFS (E.G., GRAIN, MEAT, WINE, AND COFFEE), IN PROCESSED FOODS, AND IN ANIMAL FODDER. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, AN ACCURATE RISK ASSESSMENT OF OTA TOXICITY INCLUDING MECHANISTIC AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES MUST BE CARRIED OUT. OCHRATOXIN HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY VARIOUS RESEARCHERS TO MEDIATE ITS TOXIC EFFECTS VIA INDUCTION OF APOPTOSIS, DISRUPTION OF MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION AND/OR THE CYTOSKELETON, OR, INDEED, VIA THE GENERATION OF DNA ADDUCTS. THUS, IT IS STILL UNCLEAR IF THE PREDOMINANT MECHANISM IS OF A GENOTOXIC OR AN EPIGENETIC NATURE. ONE ASPECT THAT IS CLEAR, HOWEVER, IS THAT THE TOXICITY OF OTA IS SUBJECT TO AND CHARACTERIZED BY LARGE SPECIES- AND SEX-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES, AS WELL AS AN APPARENTLY STRICT STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIP. THESE CONSIDERATIONS COULD BE CRUCIAL IN THE INVESTIGATION OF OTA-MEDIATED TOXICITY. FURTHERMORE, THE USE OF APPROPRIATE IN VIVO AND IN VITRO MODEL SYSTEMS APPEARS TO BE VITAL IN THE GENERATION OF RELEVANT EXPERIMENTAL DATA. THE INTENTION OF THIS REVIEW IS TO COLLATE AND DISCUSS THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DATA ON OTA-MEDIATED TOXICITY WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THEIR RELEVANCE FOR THE IN VIVO SITUATION, AND ALSO TO SUGGEST POSSIBLE FUTURE STRATEGIES FOR UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF OCHRATOXIN A.	2005	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
11  1980  31 EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN CYTOCHROME P450 OXIDOREDUCTASE (POR) IN SPERM OF RATS EXPOSED TO TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC). AS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IS INCREASING, RESEARCH REGARDING POSSIBLE LONG-TERM RISKS FOR USERS AND THEIR OFFSPRING IS NEEDED. LITTLE DATA EXISTS ON EFFECTS OF PATERNAL TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC) EXPOSURE PRIOR TO REPRODUCTION. THIS STUDY DETERMINED IF CHRONIC THC EXPOSURE ALTERS SPERM DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) AND IF SUCH EFFECTS ARE INTERGENERATIONALLY TRANSMITTED. ADULT MALE RATS UNDERWENT ORAL GAVAGE WITH THC OR VEHICLE CONTROL. DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED (DM) LOCI IN MOTILE SPERM WERE IDENTIFIED USING REDUCED REPRESENTATION BISULFITE SEQUENCING (RRBS). ANOTHER COHORT WAS INJECTED WITH VEHICLE OR THC, AND SPERM DNAM WAS ANALYZED. FINALLY, THC-EXPOSED AND CONTROL ADULT MALE RATS WERE MATED WITH THC-NAIVE FEMALES. DNAM LEVELS OF TARGET GENES IN BRAIN TISSUES OF THE OFFSPRING WERE DETERMINED BY PYROSEQUENCING. RRBS IDENTIFIED 2,940 DM CPGS MAPPING TO 627 GENES. SIGNIFICANT HYPERMETHYLATION WAS CONFIRMED (P < 0.05) FOLLOWING ORAL THC ADMINISTRATION FOR CYTOCHROME P450 OXIDOREDUCTASE (POR), INVOLVED IN TOXIN PROCESSING AND DISORDERS OF SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT. POR HYPERMETHYLATION WAS NOT OBSERVED AFTER THC INJECTION OR IN THE SUBSEQUENT GENERATION. THESE RESULTS SUPPORT THAT THC ALTERS DNAM IN SPERM AND THAT ROUTE OF EXPOSURE CAN HAVE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS. ALTHOUGH WE DID NOT OBSERVE EVIDENCE OF INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF THE DNAM CHANGE, LARGER STUDIES ARE REQUIRED TO DEFINITIVELY EXCLUDE THIS POSSIBILITY.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
12  3623  42 IN VIVO COMET ASSAY ON ISOLATED KIDNEY CELLS TO DISTINGUISH GENOTOXIC CARCINOGENS FROM EPIGENETIC CARCINOGENS OR CYTOTOXIC COMPOUNDS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE ABILITY OF THE ALKALINE IN VIVO COMET ASSAY (PH>13) TO DISTINGUISH GENOTOXIC CARCINOGENS FROM EPIGENETIC CARCINOGENS WHEN PERFORMED ON FRESHLY ISOLATED KIDNEY CELLS AND TO DETERMINE THE POSSIBLE INTERFERENCE OF CYTOTOXICITY BY ASSESSING DNA DAMAGE INDUCED BY RENAL GENOTOXIC, EPIGENETIC OR TOXIC COMPOUNDS AFTER ENZYMATIC ISOLATION OF KIDNEY CELLS FROM OFA SPRAGUE-DAWLEY MALE RATS. THE ABILITY OF THE COMET ASSAY TO DISTINGUISH (1) GENOTOXICITY VERSUS CYTOTOXICITY AND (2) GENOTOXIC VERSUS NON-GENOTOXIC (EPIGENETIC) CARCINOGENS, WAS THUS INVESTIGATED BY STUDYING FIVE KNOWN GENOTOXIC RENAL CARCINOGENS ACTING THROUGH DIVERSE MECHANISMS OF ACTION, I.E. STREPTOZOTOCIN, ARISTOLOCHIC ACIDS, 2-NITROANISOLE, POTASSIUM BROMATE AND CISPLATIN, TWO RODENT RENAL EPIGENETIC CARCINOGENS: D-LIMONENE AND CICLOSPORINE AND TWO NEPHROTOXIC COMPOUNDS: STREPTOMYCIN AND INDOMETHACIN. ANIMALS WERE TREATED ONCE WITH THE TEST COMPOUND BY THE APPROPRIATE ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION AND GENOTOXIC EFFECTS WERE MEASURED AT THE TWO SAMPLING TIMES OF 3-6 AND 22-26H AFTER TREATMENT. REGARDING THE TISSUE PROCESSING, THE LIMITED BACKGROUND LEVEL OF DNA MIGRATION OBSERVED IN THE NEGATIVE CONTROL GROUPS THROUGHOUT ALL EXPERIMENTS DEMONSTRATED THAT THE ENZYMATIC ISOLATION METHOD IMPLEMENTED IN THE CURRENT STUDY IS APPROPRIATE. ON THE OTHER HAND, STREPTOZOTOCIN, 20MG/KG, USED AS POSITIVE REFERENCE CONTROL CONCURRENTLY TO EACH ASSAY, CAUSED A CLEAR INCREASE IN THE MEAN OLIVE TAIL MOMENT MEDIAN VALUE, WHICH ALLOWS VALIDATING THE CURRENT METHODOLOGY. UNDER THESE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS, THE IN VIVO RODENT COMET ASSAY DEMONSTRATED GOOD SENSITIVITY AND GOOD SPECIFICITY: ALL THE FIVE RENAL GENOTOXIC CARCINOGENS WERE CLEARLY DETECTED IN AT LEAST ONE EXPRESSION PERIOD EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, AS IN THE CASE OF CISPLATIN: FOR THIS CROSS-LINKING AGENT, THE SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN DNA MIGRATION OBSERVED UNDER STANDARD ELECTROPHORESIS CONDITIONS WAS CLEARLY AMPLIFIED WHEN THE DURATION OF ELECTROPHORESIS WAS INCREASED UP TO 40MIN. IN CONTRAST, EPIGENETIC AND NEPHROTOXIC COMPOUNDS FAILED TO INDUCE ANY SIGNIFCANT INCREASE IN DNA MIGRATION. IN CONCLUSION, THE IN VIVO RODENT COMET ASSAY PERFORMED ON ISOLATED KIDNEY CELLS COULD BE USED AS A TOOL TO INVESTIGATE THE GENOTOXIC POTENTIAL OF A TEST COMPOUND IF NEOPLASIC/PRENEOPLASIC CHANGES OCCUR AFTER SUBCHRONIC OR CHRONIC TREATMENTS, IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF GENOTOXICITY IN TUMOR INDUCTION. MOREOVER, THE EPIGENETIC CARCINOGENS AND CYTOTOXIC COMPOUNDS DISPLAYED CLEARLY NEGATIVE RESPONSES IN THIS STUDY. THESE RESULTS ALLOW EXCLUDING A DNA DIRECT-ACTING MECHANISM OF ACTION AND CAN THUS SUGGEST THAT A THRESHOLD EXISTS. THEREFORE, THE CURRENT IN VIVO RODENT COMET ASSAY COULD CONTRIBUTE TO ELUCIDATE AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM AND THUS, TO UNDERTAKE A RISK ASSESSMENT ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN USE, DEPENDING ON THE EXPOSURE LEVEL.	2007	

13  4823  25 OCHRATOXIN A: POTENTIAL EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF TOXICITY AND CARCINOGENICITY. ASSESSMENT OF THE SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMAN HEALTH OF OCHRATOXIN A (OTA) IN FOOD IS LIMITED BY A LACK OF HUMAN TOXICITY DATA. THEREFORE, OTA RISK EVALUATION RELIES MAINLY ON THE USE OF ANIMAL DATA, WITH RENAL CARCINOGENICITY IN RAT BEING CONSIDERED AS THE PIVOTAL EFFECT. THE ELUCIDATION OF THE MECHANISM OF ACTION WOULD IMPROVE THE USE OF THE CARCINOGENICITY DATA FOR RISK ASSESSMENT. DIRECT GENOTOXICITY VERSUS EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS APPEARS TO BE A KEY QUESTION. IN THIS PRESENTATION, NEW BIOCHEMICAL AND TOXICOGENOMIC RESULTS OBTAINED IN A RECENT EUROPEAN PROJECT (EU-GRANT # QLK1-CT-2001-011614) WILL BE SUMMARIZED IN THE CONTEXT OF PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MECHANISMS OF ACTION INCLUDING INHIBITION OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, PRODUCTION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ALTERATION OF CELL SIGNALLING. AMONGST OTHERS, THE NEW DATA INDICATE THAT CHRONIC ADMINISTRATION OF A CARCINOGENIC DOSE OF OTA AFFECTED CELL-SIGNALLING PATHWAYS RESULTING IN A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED RENAL ANTIOXIDANT DEFENCE AND INCREASED OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE. THESE DATA CONFIRM PREVIOUS HYPOTHESES INVOLVING OXIDATIVE STRESS AS A POSSIBLE KEY EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF OTA TOXICITY AND CARCINOGENICITY.	2005	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
14  4819  31 OCCURRENCE OF TOXICITY AND CELL PROLIFERATION AFTER A SINGLE GAVAGE ADMINISTRATION OF CHLOROFORM TO MALE F344 RATS. CHLOROFORM, AN INDUSTRIAL SOLVENT AND ONE OF THE MOST COMMON ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS WHICH PRODUCES CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS IN THE LIVER AND KIDNEY OF RODENTS, IS NOT GENOTOXIC IN MOST TRADITIONAL BACTERIAL AND MAMMALIAN TEST SYSTEMS. ITS CARCINOGENIC POTENTIAL APPEARS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE SUSTAINED CELL TURNOVER (REGENERATIVE HYPERPLASIA) WHICH RESULTS FROM CHRONIC CHLOROFORM TOXICITY. IN THIS PRESENT STUDY, CELL PROLIFERATION (REPLICATIVE DNA SYNTHESIS, RDS) AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN HEPATOCYTES AND RENAL TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELLS WERE ASSESSED IN MALE F344 RATS FOLLOWING A SINGLE GAVAGE CHLOROFORM EXPOSURE (50, 150 OR 500 MG/KG). IN ADDITION, BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS (BUN, GOT, LDH AND NAG) WERE EXAMINED USING PLASMA AND URINE SAMPLES. CELL PROLIFERATION AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES (E.G. HYPERTROPHY, NECROSIS, VACUOLATION) WERE ONLY SEEN AT THE DOSE OF 500 MG/KG IN THE LIVER AND KIDNEY. AT THE SAME DOSE, ALL BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS WERE INCREASED AT THE 24 TO 48 HR TIME POINTS. THESE RESULTS OBTAINED ARE THUS IN LINE WITH EARLIER FINDINGS POINTING TO EPIGENETIC CARCINOGENICITY.	1998	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
15  5057  24 PHENOBARBITAL MECHANISTIC DATA AND RISK ASSESSMENT: ENZYME INDUCTION, ENHANCED CELL PROLIFERATION, AND TUMOR PROMOTION. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO HIGH DOSES OF PHENOBARBITAL (PB) CAUSES HEPATOCELLULAR ADENOMAS IN BOTH MICE AND RATS AND HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMAS IN SOME STRAINS OF MICE. LONG-TERM PB THERAPY HAS NOT BEEN FOUND TO CAUSE HUMAN TUMORS. PB IS NOT DNA REACTIVE, AND MOST GENOTOXICITY TESTS HAVE YIELDED NEGATIVE RESULTS. PB HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY STUDIED AS AN EPIGENETIC, RODENT LIVER TUMOR PROMOTER. AT EXPOSURES CAUSING RODENT LIVER TUMORS, PB HAS MEASURABLE EFFECTS ON HEPATOCYTES: PB INHIBITS CELL-TO-CELL COMMUNICATION; PB INDUCES ENZYMES, INCLUDING P450 CYTOCHROMES; PB STIMULATES PROLIFERATION AND INHIBITS APOPTOSIS OF HEPATOCYTES IN NEOPLASTIC FOCI. THRESHOLD EXPOSURES FOR SOME OF THESE ENDPOINTS COINCIDE WITH THE THRESHOLD EXPOSURE FOR TUMORIGENESIS.	1996	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
16   126  39 A TOXICOGENOMICS APPROACH TO IDENTIFY NEW PLAUSIBLE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF OCHRATOXIN A CARCINOGENICITY IN RAT. OCHRATOXIN A (OTA) IS A MYCOTOXIN OCCURRING NATURALLY IN A WIDE RANGE OF FOOD COMMODITIES. IN ANIMALS, IT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO CAUSE A VARIETY OF ADVERSE EFFECTS, NEPHROCARCINOGENICITY BEING THE MOST PROMINENT. BECAUSE OF ITS HIGH TOXIC POTENCY AND THE CONTINUOUS EXPOSURE OF THE HUMAN POPULATION, OTA HAS RAISED PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS. THERE IS SIGNIFICANT DEBATE ON HOW TO USE THE RAT CARCINOGENICITY DATA TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL RISK TO HUMANS. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE QUESTION OF THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF OTA APPEARS OF KEY IMPORTANCE AND WAS STUDIED THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF A TOXICOGENOMICS APPROACH. MALE FISCHER RATS WERE FED OTA FOR UP TO 2 YEARS. RENAL TUMORS WERE DISCOVERED DURING THE LAST 6 MONTHS OF THE STUDY. THE TOTAL TUMOR INCIDENCE REACHED 25% AT THE END OF THE STUDY. GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE WAS ANALYZED IN GROUPS OF ANIMALS TAKEN IN INTERVALS FROM 7 DAYS TO 12 MONTHS. TISSUE-SPECIFIC RESPONSES WERE OBSERVED IN KIDNEY VERSUS LIVER. FOR SELECTED GENES, MICROARRAY DATA WERE CONFIRMED AT BOTH MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS. IN KIDNEY, SEVERAL GENES KNOWN AS MARKERS OF KIDNEY INJURY AND CELL REGENERATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY MODULATED BY OTA. THE EXPRESSION OF GENES KNOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN DNA SYNTHESIS AND REPAIR, OR GENES INDUCED AS A RESULT OF DNA DAMAGE, WAS ONLY MARGINALLY MODULATED. VERY LITTLE OR NO EFFECT WAS FOUND AMONGST GENES ASSOCIATED WITH APOPTOSIS. ALTERATIONS OF GENE EXPRESSION INDICATING EFFECTS ON CALCIUM HOMEOSTASIS AND A DISRUPTION OF PATHWAYS REGULATED BY THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS HEPATOCYTE NUCLEAR FACTOR 4 ALPHA (HNF4ALPHA) AND NUCLEAR FACTOR-ERYTHROID 2-RELATED FACTOR 2 (NRF2) WERE OBSERVED IN THE KIDNEY BUT NOT IN THE LIVER. PREVIOUS DATA HAVE SUGGESTED THAT A REDUCTION IN HNF4ALPHA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH NEPHROCARCINOGENICITY. MANY NRF2-REGULATED GENES ARE INVOLVED IN CHEMICAL DETOXICATION AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE. THE DEPLETION OF THESE GENES IS LIKELY TO IMPAIR THE DEFENSE POTENTIAL OF THE CELLS, RESULTING IN CHRONIC ELEVATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE KIDNEY. THE INHIBITION OF DEFENSE MECHANISM APPEARS AS A HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE NEW MECHANISM, WHICH COULD CONTRIBUTE TO OTA CARCINOGENICITY.	2006	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
17  5329  30 PURINERGIC SIGNALING IN THE LUMEN OF A NORMAL NEPHRON AND IN REMODELED PKD ENCAPSULATED CYSTS. THE NEPHRON IS THE FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF THE KIDNEY. BLOOD AND PLASMA ARE CONTINUALLY FILTERED WITHIN THE GLOMERULI THAT BEGIN EACH NEPHRON. ADENOSINE 5' TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP) AND ITS METABOLITES ARE FREELY FILTERED BY EACH GLOMERULUS AND ENTER THE LUMEN OF EACH NEPHRON BEGINNING AT THE PROXIMAL CONVOLUTED TUBULE (PCT). FLOW RATE, OSMOLALITY, AND OTHER MECHANICAL OR CHEMICAL STIMULI FOR ATP SECRETION ARE PRESENT IN EACH NEPHRON SEGMENT. THESE ATP-RELEASE STIMULI ARE ALSO DIFFERENT IN EACH NEPHRON SEGMENT DUE TO WATER OR SALT PERMEABILITY OR IMPERMEABILITY ALONG DIFFERENT LUMINAL MEMBRANES OF THE CELLS THAT LINE EACH NEPHRON SEGMENT. EACH OF THE ABOVE STIMULI CAN TRIGGER ADDITIONAL ATP RELEASE INTO THE LUMEN OF A NEPHRON SEGMENT. EACH NEPHRON-LINING EPITHELIAL CELL IS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF SECRETED ATP. TOGETHER WITH FILTERED ATP AND ITS METABOLITES DERIVED FROM THE GLOMERULUS, SECRETED ATP AND ADENOSINE DERIVED FROM CELLS ALONG THE NEPHRON ARE LIKELY THE PRINCIPAL TWO OF SEVERAL NUCLEOTIDE AND NUCLEOSIDE CANDIDATES FOR RENAL AUTOCRINE AND PARACRINE LIGANDS WITHIN THE TUBULAR FLUID OF THE NEPHRON. THIS MINIREVIEW DISCUSSES THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF PURINERGIC SIGNALING AS THEY RELATE TO THE NEPHRON AND THE URINARY BLADDER. THE REVIEW DISCUSSES HOW THE LUMEN OF A RENAL TUBULE PRESENTS AN IDEAL PURINERGIC SIGNALING MICROENVIRONMENT. THE REVIEW ALSO ILLUSTRATES HOW REMODELED AND ENCAPSULATED CYSTS IN AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE (ADPKD) AND REMODELED PSEUDOCYSTS IN AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE PKD (ARPKD) OF THE RENAL COLLECTING DUCT LIKELY CREATE AN EVEN MORE IDEAL MICROENVIRONMENT FOR PURINERGIC SIGNALING. ONCE TRAPPED IN THESE CLOSED MICROENVIRONMENTS, PURINERGIC SIGNALING BECOMES CHRONIC AND LIKELY PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT EPIGENETIC AND DETRIMENTAL ROLE IN THE SECONDARY PROGRESSION OF PKD, ONCE THE REMODELING OF THE RENAL TISSUE HAS BEGUN. IN PKD CYSTIC MICROENVIRONMENTS, WE ARGUE THAT NORMAL PURINERGIC SIGNALING WITHIN THE LUMEN OF THE NEPHRON PROVIDES DETRIMENTAL ACCELERATION OF ADPKD ONCE REMODELING IS COMPLETE.	2008	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
18  3179  38 HAIR CORTISOL AS A HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS BIOMARKER IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA: A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: CORTISOL IS A HORMONE INVOLVED IN MANY PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDING FETAL MATURATION AND EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING DURING PREGNANCY. THIS STUDY AIMED TO USE HAIR CORTISOL AS A BIOMARKER OF CHRONIC INHALED CORTICOSTEROID (ICS) EXPOSURE AND ASSESS THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF ASTHMA ON THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS IN PREGNANT WOMEN. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA TREATED WITH ICS WOULD EXHIBIT LOWER HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS, INDICATIVE OF ADRENAL SUPPRESSION, COMPARED TO WOMEN WITH ASTHMA NOT USING ICS AND WOMEN WHO DO NOT HAVE ASTHMA. METHODS: WE PERFORMED AN OBSERVATIONAL RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY. HAIR SAMPLES WERE ANALYZED FROM PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA, WITH (N = 56) AND WITHOUT (N = 31) ICS TREATMENT, AND PREGNANT WOMEN WITHOUT ASTHMA (N = 31). HAIR SAMPLES WERE SEGMENTED BASED ON THE GROWTH RATE OF 1 CM/MONTH AND ANALYZED BY ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY TO PROVIDE CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS CORRESPONDING TO PRECONCEPTION, TRIMESTERS 1-3, AND POSTPARTUM. HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS WERE COMPARED WITHIN AND AMONG THE GROUPS USING NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICAL TESTS. RESULTS: HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS INCREASED ACROSS TRIMESTERS FOR ALL THREE GROUPS, BUT THIS INCREASE WAS DAMPENED IN WOMEN WITH ASTHMA (P = 0.03 FOR CONTROLS VS. ICS TREATED AND CONTROLS VS. NO ICS). ICS TREATED WOMEN TAKING MORE THAN FIVE DOSES PER WEEK HAD HAIR CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS 47 % LOWER IN THIRD TRIMESTER THAN CONTROLS. LINEAR REGRESSION OF THE THIRD TRIMESTER HAIR CORTISOL RESULTS IDENTIFIED ASTHMA AS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR WHEN COMPARING CONSISTENT ICS USE OR ASTHMA AS THE PREDICTOR (F(1, 25) = 9.7, P = 0.005, R(2) ADJ = 0.257). CONCLUSIONS: HAIR CORTISOL SUCCESSFULLY SHOWED THE EXPECTED CHANGE IN CORTISOL OVER THE COURSE OF PREGNANCY AND MAY BE A USEFUL BIOMARKER OF HPA AXIS FUNCTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ASTHMA. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF DECREASED MATERNAL CORTISOL IN WOMEN WITH ASTHMA ON PERINATAL OUTCOMES REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
19  2838  29 FORMALDEHYDE CARCINOGENICITY RESEARCH: 30 YEARS AND COUNTING FOR MODE OF ACTION, EPIDEMIOLOGY, AND CANCER RISK ASSESSMENT. FORMALDEHYDE IS A WIDELY USED HIGH PRODUCTION CHEMICAL THAT IS ALSO RELEASED AS A BYPRODUCT OF COMBUSTION, OFF-GASSING OF VARIOUS BUILDING PRODUCTS, AND AS A FIXATIVE FOR PATHOLOGISTS AND EMBALMERS. WHAT IS NOT OFTEN REALIZED IS THAT FORMALDEHYDE IS ALSO PRODUCED AS A NORMAL PHYSIOLOGIC CHEMICAL IN ALL LIVING CELLS. IN 1980, CHRONIC INHALATION OF HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF FORMALDEHYDE WAS SHOWN TO BE CARCINOGENIC, INDUCING A HIGH INCIDENCE OF NASAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS IN RATS. SOME EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES HAVE ALSO FOUND INCREASED NUMBERS OF NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA AND LEUKEMIA IN HUMANS EXPOSED TO FORMALDEHYDE THAT RESULTED IN FORMALDEHYDE BEING CONSIDERED A KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGEN. THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS THE DATA FOR RODENT AND HUMAN CARCINOGENICITY, EARLY MODE OF ACTION STUDIES, MORE RECENT MOLECULAR STUDIES OF BOTH ENDOGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS DNA ADDUCTS, AND EPIGENETIC STUDIES. IT GOES ON TO DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF THESE RESEARCH STUDIES TO PROVIDE CRITICAL DATA TO IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO DEVELOP SCIENCE-BASED CANCER RISK ASSESSMENTS, INSTEAD OF DEFAULT APPROACHES. THE COMPLEXITY OF CONSTANT PHYSIOLOGIC EXPOSURE TO A KNOWN CARCINOGEN REQUIRES THAT NEW WAYS OF THINKING BE INCORPORATED INTO DETERMINATIONS OF CANCER RISK ASSESSMENT FOR FORMALDEHYDE, OTHER ENDOGENOUS CARCINOGENS, AND THE ROLE OF BACKGROUND ENDOGENOUS DNA DAMAGE AND MUTAGENESIS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
20   387  30 AN INDIVIDUALITY OF RESPONSE TO CANNABINOIDS: CHALLENGES IN SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS. SINCE LEGALIZATION, CANNABIS/MARIJUANA HAS BEEN GAINING CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION AS A FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENT IN FOOD. ?-9 TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC), CANNABIDIOL (CBD), AND OTHER CANNABINOIDS ARE KEY BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS WITH HEALTH BENEFITS. THE ORAL CONSUMPTION OF CANNABIS TRANSPORTS MUCH LESS HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS THAN SMOKING. NEVERTHELESS, THE RESPONSE TO CANNABIS IS BIPHASICALLY DOSE-DEPENDENT (HORMESIS; A LOW-DOSE STIMULATION AND A HIGH-DOSE INHIBITION) WITH WIDE INDIVIDUALITY IN RESPONSES. THUS, THE EXACT SAME DOSE AND PREPARATION OF CANNABIS MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR SOME BUT TOXIC TO OTHERS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE CONCEPT OF INDIVIDUAL VARIATIONS IN RESPONSE TO CANNABINOIDS, WHICH LEADS TO THE CHALLENGE OF ESTABLISHING STANDARD SAFE DOSES OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION. THE MECHANISMS OF ACTIONS, ACUTE AND CHRONIC TOXICITIES, AND FACTORS AFFECTING RESPONSES TO CANNABIS PRODUCTS ARE UPDATED. BASED ON THE LITERATURE REVIEW, WE FOUND THAT THE RESPONSE TO CANNABIS PRODUCTS DEPENDS ON EXPOSURE FACTORS (DELIVERY ROUTE, DURATION, FREQUENCY, AND INTERACTIONS WITH FOOD AND DRUGS), INDIVIDUAL FACTORS (AGE, SEX), AND SUSCEPTIBILITY FACTORS (GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS OF CANNABINOID RECEPTOR GENE, N-ACYLETHANOLAMINE-HYDROLYZING ENZYMES, THC-METABOLIZING ENZYMES, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS). OWING TO THE INDIVIDUALITY OF RESPONSES, THE SAFEST WAY TO USE CANNABIS-CONTAINING FOOD PRODUCTS IS TO START LOW, GO SLOW, AND STAY LOW.	2023