1,721,005 research outputs found
[Molecular epidemiology in the identification of subjects susceptible to the effects of environmental carcinogens].
MicroRNAs as targets for dietary and pharmacological inhibitors of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in many biological processes, cancer, and other diseases. In addition, miRNAs are dysregulated following exposure to toxic and genotoxic agents. Here we review studies evaluating modulation of miRNAs by dietary and pharmacological agents, which could potentially be exploited for inhibition of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. This review covers natural agents, including vitamins, oligoelements, polyphenols, isoflavones, indoles, isothiocyanates, phospholipids, saponins, anthraquinones and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and synthetic agents, including thiols, nuclear receptor agonists, histone deacetylase inhibitors, antiinflammatory drugs, and selective estrogen receptor modulators. As many as 145 miRNAs, involved in the control of a variety of carcinogenesis mechanisms, were modulated by these agents, either individually or in combination. Most studies used cancer cells in vitro with the goal of modifying their phenotype by changing miRNA expression profiles. In vivo studies evaluated regulation of miRNAs by chemopreventive agents in organs of mice and rats, either untreated or exposed to carcinogens, with the objective of evaluating their safety and efficacy. The tissue specificity of miRNAs could be exploited for the chemoprevention of site-specific cancers, and the study of polymorphic miRNAs is expected to predict the individual response to chemopreventive agents as a tool for developing new prevention strategies
Modulation of the potency of promutagens and direct acting mutagens in bacteria by inhibitors of the multidrug resistance mechanism.
Increased DNA alterations in atherosclerotic lesions of individuals lacking the GSTM1 genotype
Methodology for evaluating oxidative DNA damage and metabolic genotypes in human trabecular meshwork.
Mitochondrial damage in the trabecular meshwork occurs only in primary open-angle glaucoma and in pseudoexfoliative glaucoma.
BackgroundOpen-angle glaucoma appears to be induced by the malfunction of the trabecular meshwork cells due to injury induced by oxidative damage and mitochondrial impairment. Here, we report that, in fact, we have detected mitochondrial damage only in primary open-angle glaucoma and pseudo-exfoliation glaucoma, among several glaucoma types compared.Methodology/principal findingsMitochondrial damage was evaluated by analyzing the common mitochondrial DNA deletion by real-time PCR in trabecular meshwork specimens collected at surgery from glaucomatous patients and controls. Glaucomatous patients included 38 patients affected by various glaucoma types: primary open-angle, pigmented, juvenile, congenital, pseudoexfoliative, acute, neovascular, and chronic closed-angle glaucoma. As control samples, we used 16 specimens collected from glaucoma-free corneal donors. Only primary open-angle glaucoma (3.0-fold) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (6.3-fold) showed significant increases in the amount of mitochondrial DNA deletion. In all other cases, deletion was similar to controls.Conclusions/significancedespite the fact that the trabecular meshwork is the most important tissue in the physiopathology of aqueous humor outflow in all glaucoma types, the present study provides new information regarding basic physiopathology of this tissue: only in primary open-angle and pseudoexfoliative glaucomas oxidative damage arising from mitochondrial failure play a role in the functional decay of trabecular meshwork
Modulation of microRNA expression by budesonide, phenethyl isothiocyanate, and cigarette smoke in mouse liver and lung.
Although microRNAs (miRNA) have extensively been investigated in cancer research, less attention has been paid to their regulation by carcinogens and/or protective factors in early stages of the carcinogenesis process. The present study was designed to evaluate the modulation of mRNA expression as related to exposure of neonatal mice to environmental cigarette smoke (ECS) and to treatment with chemopreventive agents. Exposure to ECS started immediately after birth and for 2 weeks after weaning. Thereafter, groups of mice received daily either budesonide (BUD) or phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) with the diet. The expression of 576 miRNAs was evaluated by miRNA microarray in liver and lung. In sham-exposed mice, the expression of miRNAs tended to be higher in liver than in lung. ECS downregulated the expression of a number of miRNAs in lung, whereas mixed alterations were observed in liver. PEITC and BUD did not substantially affect the physiological situation in lung, whereas both agents caused intense variations in liver, reflecting the occurrence of damage mechanisms, such as inflammation, DNA and protein damage, cellular stress, proliferation and apoptosis. PEITC and BUD protected the lung from ECS-induced alterations of miRNA expression but exhibited some adverse effects in liver. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
Sensitivity of Ocular Anterior Chamber Tissues to Oxidative Damage and Its Relevance to the Pathogenesis of Glaucoma
PURPOSE. The anterior chamber of the eye is a highly specialized structure delimited by the cornea, lens, and iris. It contains the aqueous humor, secreted by the ciliary body and drained by the trabecular meshwork. Alteration of aqueous humor homeostasis plays a major role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. The trabecular meshwork is the target tissue of glaucoma in the anterior chamber, and the development and progression of glaucoma are accompanied by accumulation of oxidative damage in this tissue. This study was conducted to comparatively evaluate the sensitivity to oxidative stress of anterior chamber tissues including the cornea, iris, and trabecular meshwork. METHODS. Cornea, iris, and trabecular meshwork fragments collected from six cornea donors were either left untreated or treated with hydrogen peroxide. Oxidative damage was determined by evaluating nucleotide oxidative modifications (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine) and apurinic alkali-fragile sites by capillary electrophoresis. RESULTS. The results indicated that the basal level of oxidative nucleotide modifications was higher in the cornea than in the iris and trabecular meshwork. The trabecular meshwork was the most sensitive tissue to oxidative damage, as after exposure to hydrogen peroxide both markers of oxidative damage dramatically increased in the trabecular meshwork but not in the cornea and iris. CONCLUSIONS. Because the cornea and iris are directly exposed to light, they possess antioxidant defense mechanisms that are not activated in the trabecular meshwork. The peculiar sensitivity of the trabecular meshwork to oxidative stress is consistent with the damage selectively induced in it, triggering glaucoma's pathogenic cascade. © Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
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