No / The relevance of preconceptional and prenatal toxicant exposures for genomic stability in offspring is difficult to analyze in human populations, because gestational exposures usually cannot be separated from preconceptional exposures. To analyze the roles of exposures during gestation and conception on genomic stability in the offspring, stability was assessed via the Comet assay and highly sensitive, semiautomated confocal laser scans of gammaH2AX foci in cord, maternal, and paternal blood as well as spermatozoa from 39 families in Crete, Greece, and the United Kingdom. With use of multivariate linear regression analysis with backward selection, preconceptional paternal smoking (% tail DNA: P>0.032; gammaH2AX foci: P>0.018) and gestational maternal (% tail DNA: P>0.033) smoking were found to statistically significantly predict DNA damage in the cord blood of F1 offspring. Maternal passive smoke exposure was not identified as a predictor of DNA damage in cord blood, indicating that the effect of paternal smoking may be transmitted via the spermatozoal genome. Taken together, these studies reveal a role for cigarette smoke in the induction of DNA alterations in human F1 offspring via exposures of the fetus in utero or the paternal germline. Moreover, the identification of transgenerational DNA alterations in the unexposed F1 offspring of smoking-exposed fathers supports the claim that cigarette smoke is a human germ cell mutagen.

Gewässer sind Lebensgrundlage, jedoch gleichzeitig Schadstoffsenken für eine Vielzahl von Kontaminanten. Biologische Wirkungstests und das Biomonitoring aquatischer Proben sind daher besonders wichtig, um Umwelt-Gefahrenpotenziale erkennen zu können. Der "Comet Assay" (Einzelzell-Gelelektrophorese) ist ein Indikator von DNA-Strangbrüchen und wurde hier als Test auf gentoxische Wirkungen erprobt und angewandt. Mit bekannten, gentoxischen Substanzen wurden Nachweisgrenzen und Dosis-Wirkungs-Beziehungen für die Zelllinien RTG-2 und RTL-W1 (aus der Regenbogenforelle, Oncorhynchus mykiss) in vitro ermittelt und methodische Parameter an die Zellen angepasst. Der Test reagierte sehr sensitiv auf 4-Nitrochinolin-1-oxid. Die Substanz war daher geeignet, um in weiteren Versuchen als Positivkontrolle zu dienen. Zur Bewertung der Messdaten wurde ein geeignetes statistisches Verfahren gefunden, das auch historische Kontrollen mit einbezog. Der zeitliche Verlauf der DNA-Schädigung des Testsystems mit RTG-2-Zellen wurde ermittelt, und durch Inhibition der DNA-Reparatur mit Aphidicolin wurden Zusammenhänge zwischen der Entstehung von DNA-Strangbrüchen, der DNA-Reparaturkapazität sowie der Metabolisierungskapazität untersucht. In einer zweiten Phase wurden unbehandelte Wasserproben aus Rhein, Elbe sowie weitere Oberflächenwasserproben mit dem Comet Assay an RTG-2-Zellen getestet. Bei 15 von 49 Proben zeigten sich gentoxische Effekte. In einer dritten Phase wurden Erythrozyten von freilebenden Döbeln, Leuciscus cephalus, aus der Mosel mit dem Comet Assay untersucht. Die Fische von drei Messstellen zeigten erhöhte Werte von DNA-Schädigungen, gegenüber einer vierten, stromabwärts gelegenen Messstation. Korrelationen mit den Ergebnissen zusätzlicher Biomarker ergaben sich nur teilweise. Chemische Analysen von Wasser- oder Gewebeproben ließen keine Rückschlüsse auf verursachende Kontaminanten zu - gerade dies unterstreicht jedoch die Wichtigkeit biologischer Tests bei komplexen Proben. / Bodies of Water are both vital resources and pollutant sinks for a multitude of contaminants. Therefore, biological effect tests and biomonitoring of aquatic samples are of particular importance to detect potential environmental hazards. The "comet assay" (single cell gel electrophoresis) is an indicator for DNA strand breaks and was explored and applied as a genotoxicity test in the present study. Known genotoxic substances were used to determine the detection limits and dose-response relationships for the cell lines RTG-2 and RTL-W1 (from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) in vitro, and to adapt methodological parameters to the cells. The test was very sensitive to 4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide. This substance was therefore well-suited to serve as positive control in further experiments. In order to evaluate the measurement data, an appropriate statistical procedure was developed, which also took "historical" controls into account. The time course of DNA damage in the test system using RTG-2 cells was determined, and relationships between the origin of DNA strand breaks, DNA repair capacity and the metabolizing capacity of the cells was investigated by means of inhibition of DNA repair with Aphidicoline. In the second stage, native water samples from the rivers Rhine and Elbe and further surface waters were tested with the comet assay, using RTG-2 cells. 15 out of 49 samples showed genotoxic effects. In a third stage, erythrocytes of feral chub, Leuciscus cephalus, from the Moselle river were examined with the comet assay. The fish from three measuring stations showed elevated values of DNA damage compared to fish sampled from a downstream station. There were only partly correlations with the results from additional biomarkers. Chemical analyses of water and tissue samples did not permit conclusions on effect-causing substances.However, this emphasizes the importance of biological tests in dealing with complex environmental samples.

AIMS: The rapidly growing industrial and medical use of nanomaterials, especially zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, has led to growing concerns about their toxicity. Accordingly, the intrinsic genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of these nanoparticles have been evaluated. MATERIALS & METHODS: Using a HEp-2 cell line, cytotoxicity was tested along with mitochondrial activity and neutral red uptake assays. The genotoxic potential was determined using the Comet and the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assays. In addition, tyrosine phosphorylation events were investigated. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: We found concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxicity and an increase in DNA and cytogenetic damage with increasing nanoparticle concentrations. Mainly for zinc oxide, genotoxicity was clearly associated with an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. Our results suggest that both types of nanoparticles can be genotoxic over a range of concentrations without being cytotoxic.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:16:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MANUELA da rocha.pdf: 1137336 bytes, checksum: 8f429c6f06f0af7ebb98f1fc1b0badbe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-24 / Chemotherapy agents are increasingly being utilized due to their promising effects in cancer treatment. The desired actions of these drugs are obtained at the cost of frequent and severe side effects. It is essential that drugs utilized for cancer treatment are tested in relation to not only their cytotoxic, but also their clastogenic and genotoxic potentials to establish their clinical risk. Thus, there is increased interest in searching for new metallic compounds presenting antitumor activity with therapeutic potential and reduced side effects, such as those containing platinum (Pt), iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), rhodium (Rh), gold (Au) and ruthenium (Ru). In this work, the cytotoxic, clastogenic and genotoxic properties of cis-tetraamine(oxalato)ruthenium(III) dithionite, cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6), were evaluated in peripheral human blood lymphocytes in vitro. Mitotic index (MI), chromosomal aberrations (CA) and DNA damage were analyzed by comet assay. The MI values of human peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures treated with 0.0075, 0.075, 0.75 and 7.5 μM cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6) were 6.1, 3.9, 3.2 and 0.2%, respectively. The lowest concentration 0.0075 did not show cytotoxic activity compared to negative control. The CA values obtained for the 0.0075, 0.075 and 0.75 μM concentrations presenting low frequency (1.5, 1.6 and 2.3%, respectively) not expressing clastogenic activity compared to negative control and only at the highest concentration 7.5 μM, showed clastogenic activity, predominantly chromatid breaks and gaps. The data obtained by the comet assay, using cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6), suggest that this compound does not show genotoxic activity at concentrations lower than 0.0075 μM. The results of these studies show that cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6) has no potential cytotoxic, clastogenic and genotoxic in vitro at concentrations less than or equal to 0.0075 μM. / Estudos de citoxicidade e genotoxicidade têm sido realizados para o desenvolvimento de novos agentes anticâncer com maior seletividade e menores efeitos colaterais de agentes antitumorais convencionais. Neste trabalho, foram avaliadas as propriedades citotóxicas, clastogênicas e genotóxicas do composto ditionato de cis-tetraamino(oxalato)rutênio(III), {cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6)}, em cultura de linfócitos de sangue periférico humano in vitro. Foram analisados os parâmetros índice mitótico (IM), aberrações cromossômicas (ACs) e danos induzidos no DNA detectados pelo ensaio cometa. O IM de cultura de linfócitos de sangue periférico humano tratados com 0,0075; 0,075; 0,75 e 7,5μM de {cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6)} foram 6,1; 3,9; 3,2 e 0,2%, respectivamente. A menor concentração 0,0075 não apresentou atividade citotóxica comparada ao controle negativo. As ACs derivadas das concentrações 0,0075; 0,075 e 0,75, apresentaram frequência de 1,5; 1,6 e 2,3 %, respectivamente, não manifestando atividade clastogênica comparadas ao contole negativo e somente na concentração de 7,5μM, demonstrou atividade clastogênica, predominando quebras e falhas cromatídicas. Os dados obtidos por meio do ensaio cometa, utilizando {cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6)}, sugerem que este composto não apresenta atividade genotóxica em concentrações menores que 0,0075 μM. Os resultados desses estudos demonstram que {cis-[Ru(C2O4)(NH3)4]2(S2O6)} não possui potencial citotóxico, clastogênico e genotóxica in vitro em concentrações menor ou igual a 0,0075 μM.

Do metal particles (including particles of pure metals, alloys, metal oxides and compounds) pose a hazard or risk to human health? In the light of this question, this thesis summarizes results from research conducted on metal particles, and describes the elaboration and implementation of an in vitro test methodology to study metal release from particles through corrosion and dissolution processes in synthetic biological media relevant for human exposure through inhalation/ingestion and dermal contact. Bioaccessible metals are defined as the pool of released metals from particles that potentially could be made available for absorption by humans or other organisms. Studies of bioaccessible metals from different metal particles within this thesis have shown that the metal release process is influenced by material properties, particle specific properties, size distribution, surface area and morphology, as well as the chemistry of synthetic biological test media simulating various human exposure scenarios. The presence of metal particles in proximity to humans and the fact that metals can be released from particles to a varying extent is the hazard referred to in the title. The bioavailable metal fraction of the released metals (the fraction available for uptake/absorption by humans through different exposure routes) is usually significantly smaller than the bioaccessible pool of released metals, and is largely related to the chemical form and state of oxidation of the released metals. Chemical speciation measurements of released chromium for instance revealed chromium to be complexed to its non-available form in simulated lung fluids. Such measurements provide an indirect measure of the potential risk for adverse health effects, when performed at relevant experimental conditions. A more direct way to assess risks is to conduct toxicological in-vitro testing of metal particles, for instance on lung cell cultures relevant for human inhalation. Induced toxicity of metal particles on lung cells includes both the effect of the particles themselves and of the released metal fraction (including bioaccessible and bioavailable metals), the latter shown to be less predominant. The toxic response was clearly influenced by various experimental conditions such as sonication treatment of particles and the presence of serum proteins. Thorough characterization of metal particles assessing parameters including chemical surface composition, degree of agglomeration in solution, size distribution, surface area and morphology was performed and discussed in relation to generated results of bioaccessibility, bioavailability and induced toxicity. One important conclusion was that neither the surface composition nor the bulk composition can be used to assess the extent of metals released from chromium-based alloy particles. These findings emphasize that information on physical-chemical properties and surface characteristics of particles is essential for an in-depth understanding of metal release processes and for further use and interpretation of bioaccessibility data to assess hazard and reduce any risks induced by human exposure to metal particles. / QC 20100803