Environmental stress in the Gulf of Mexico and its potential impact on public health

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest maritime oil spill in history resulting in the accumulation of genotoxic substances in the air, soil, and water. This has potential far-reaching health impacts on cleanup field workers and on the populations living in the contaminated coastal areas. We have employed portable airborne particulate matter samplers (SKC Biosampler Impinger) and a genetically engineered bacterial reporter system (umu-ChromoTest from EBPI) to determine levels of genotoxicity of air samples collected from highly contaminated areas of coastal Louisiana including Grand Isle, Port Fourchon, and Elmer's Island in the spring, summer and fall of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Air samples collected from a non-contaminated area, Sea Rim State Park, Texas, served as a control for background airborne genotoxic particles. In comparison to controls, air samples from the contaminated areas demonstrated highly significant increases in genotoxicity with the highest values registered during the month of July in 2011, 2013, and 2014, in all three locations. This seasonal trend was disrupted in 2012, when the highest genotoxicity values were detected in October, which correlated with hurricane Isaac landfall in late August of 2012, about five weeks before a routine collection of fall air samples. Our data demonstrate: (i) high levels of air genotoxicity in the monitored areas over last four years post DWH oil spill; (ii) airborne particulate genotoxicity peaks in summers and correlates with high temperatures and high humidity; and (iii) this seasonal trend was disrupted by the hurricane Isaac landfall, which further supports the concept of a continuous negative impact of the oil spill in this region.

MODELING STREAMFLOW AND WATER QUALITY SENSITIVITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN 20 U.S. WATERSHEDS

Watershed modeling in 20 large, United States (U.S.) watersheds addresses gaps in our knowledge of streamflow, nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus), and sediment loading sensitivity to mid-21st Century climate change and urban/residential development scenarios. Use of a consistent methodology facilitates regional scale comparisons across the study watersheds. Simulations use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Climate change scenarios are from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program dynamically downscaled climate model output. Urban and residential development scenarios are from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Climate and Land Use Scenarios project. Simulations provide a plausible set of streamflow and water quality responses to mid-21st Century climate change across the U.S. Simulated changes show a general pattern of decreasing streamflow volume in the central Rockies and Southwest, and increases on the East Coast and Northern Plains. Changes in pollutant loads follow a similar pattern but with increased variability. Ensemble mean results suggest that by the mid-21st Century, statistically significant changes in streamflow and total suspended solids loads (relative to baseline conditions) are possible in roughly 30-40% of study watersheds. These proportions increase to around 60% for total phosphorus and total nitrogen loads. Projected urban/residential development, and watershed responses to development, are small at the large spatial scale of modeling in this study.

Immunological control of virus-induced tumors in primates

Cells infected by oncogenic viruses may transform, may develop a latent carrier state, or may be destroyed but understanding of the control of the results of infection is incomplete. Even if cells transform, ultimate development of a tumor may be immunologically controlled. For example, cells of some marmoset species transform after infection with RNA tumor viruses, and animals react to the transformed cells with cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. Both virus specific and cross-reacting cell membrane antigens have been demonstrated. Immune deficiency accelerates tumor growth or causes recurrence of a regressing tumor. In contrast certain simian herpesvirus (Herpesvirus saimiri, HVS and Herpesvirus ateles, HVA), which cause no or minor disease in their natural hosts, induce lymphomas or lymphoblastic leukemias in other primate species. The immune response of the natural host species to HVS is greater than that of animals developing malignancies after experimental infection. HVS and HVA share many properties with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) of man, including antigens appearing early and late during infection and their related antibody responses but no evidence exists that they induce malignancies in their natural hosts. However, if induction is as infrequent as that with EBV and Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), we have not observed sufficient numbers of squirrel or spider monkeys to have seen a BL-like tumor. Interference with the immune systems of animals carrying HVS or HVA may induce tumor development, and clarify our understanding of the relationships between EBV and BL.

IL8 polymorphisms and overall survival in pazopanib- or sunitinib-treated patients with renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

We evaluated germline single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for association with overall survival (OS) in pazopanib- or sunitinib-treated patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC).

METHODS

The discovery analysis tested 27 SNPs within 13 genes from a phase III pazopanib trial (N=241, study 1). Suggestive associations were then pursued in two independent datasets: a phase III trial (COMPARZ) comparing pazopanib vs sunitinib (N=729, study 2) and an observational study of sunitinib-treated patients (N=89, study 3).

RESULTS

In study 1, four SNPs showed nominally significant association (P≤0.05) with OS; two of these SNPs (rs1126647, rs4073) in IL8 were associated (P≤0.05) with OS in study 2. Because rs1126647 and rs4073 were highly correlated, only rs1126647 was evaluated in study 3, which also showed association (P≤0.05). In the combined data, rs1126647 was associated with OS after conservative multiple-test adjustment (P=8.8 × 10(-5); variant vs reference allele hazard ratio 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-1.52), without evidence for heterogeneity of effects between studies or between pazopanib- and sunitinib-treated patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Variant alleles of IL8 polymorphisms are associated with poorer survival outcomes in pazopanib- or sunitinib-treated patients with aRCC. These findings provide insight in aRCC prognosis and may advance our thinking in development of new therapies.

Circulating prolactin and breast cancer risk among pre- and postmenopausal women in the EPIC cohort

BACKGROUND

Experimental and epidemiological evidence suggests that prolactin might play a role in the etiology of breast cancer. We analyzed the relationship of prediagnostic circulating prolactin levels with the risk of breast cancer by menopausal status, use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at blood donation, and by estrogen and progesterone receptor status of the breast tumors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Conditional logistic regression was used to analyze the data from a case-control study nested within the prospective European EPIC cohort, including 2250 invasive breast cancer and their matched control subjects.

RESULTS

Statistically significant heterogeneity in the association of prolactin levels with breast cancer risk between women who were either pre- or postmenopausal at the time of blood donation was observed (Phet = 0.04). Higher serum levels of prolactin were associated with significant increase in the risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women [odds ratio (OR)Q4-Q1 = 1.29 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.05-1.58), Ptrend = 0.09]; however, this increase in risk seemed to be confined to women who used postmenopausal HRT at blood donation [ORQ4-Q1 = 1.45 (95% CI 1.08-1.95), Ptrend = 0.01], whereas no statistically significant association was found for the non-users of HRT [ORQ4-Q1 = 1.11 (95%CI 0.83-1.49), Ptrend = 0.80] (Phet = 0.08). Among premenopausal women, a statistically non-significant inverse association was observed [ORQ4-Q1 = 0.70 (95% CI 0.48-1.03), Ptrend = 0.16]. There was no heterogeneity in the prolactin-breast cancer association by hormone receptor status of the tumor.

CONCLUSION

Our study indicates that higher circulating levels of prolactin among the postmenopausal HRT users at baseline may be associated with increased breast cancer risk.