Interaction studies of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) with human serum albumin (HSA): Molecular docking investigations

The necessity of enhancing the human health risk assessment of 1,3,6,8-tetrabromocarbazole: Based on in vitro experiments, theoretical calculations, and model predictions

Industrial emissions have been identified as significant contributors to polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs), a novel pollutant in the environment. Enhancing the health risk assessment of PHCZs is imperative, particularly for 1,3,6,8-tetrabromocarbazole (1368BCZ), the most commonly detected PHCZs in the environment. This study revealed that 1368BCZ could bind to the important transporters, human serum albumin (HSA), with high binding constant (KA: 1.02 × 105 L/mol). 1368BCZ primary bound to the HSA binding site 2, and the impact of 1368BCZ on HSA structure was minimal, indicating 1368BCZ may has strong accumulation in human. Theoretical analysis indicated that the uniformly distributed molecular surface electrostatic potential of the 1368BCZ molecule was crucial for its strong binding affinity to HSA. van der Waals forces serve as the primary interaction force stabilizing this binding. Further model predictions results showed that 1368BCZ may cause various toxic effects including hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicology, mutagenicity, etc. In summary, this study revealed the potential human health risks associated with 1368BCZ, providing an important basis for the formulation of relevant environmental control standards.

Levels, tissue distribution and isomer stereoselectivity of Dechlorane Plus in humans: A critical review

Exposure of human tissues to Dechlorane Plus (DP) has raised public concern because of the multiple health threats it may pose to humans. Therefore, it is important to summarize the main findings of previous studies on DP in human tissues and to provide potential guidance for future studies. In this paper, DP levels in different populations and human tissues worldwide since 2009 were systematically reviewed. DP levels in human tissues of workers in e-waste dismantling sites in Guangdong Province, China (median 190 ng·g-1 lw in serum) and DP manufacturing plants in Jiangsu Province, China (mean 857 ng·g-1 lw in whole-blood) are the highest reported worldwide. DP levels in tissues of the general population in recent studies are close to those of residents near e-waste dismantling sites, which should be of concern. DP levels in different human tissues were found to be positively correlated with a pattern of blood > breast milk > adipose tissue. The distribution of DP in different human tissues is mainly lipid-driven and may also be influenced by the interaction of DP with proteins such as human serum albumin. Most of the past studies determined the isomer stereoselectivity of DP in human tissues only by comparing the composition of DP in commercial DP products and human tissues, which lacks evidence of mechanism. Recently, a significantly different affinity of DP isomers for proteins was found, which seems to confirm the isomer selectivity of DP in human tissues. We simulated the binding of DP to human serum albumin and DP to thyroid hormone receptor β by molecular docking and found differences in the binding behavior of syn-DP and anti-DP to the selected proteins. Molecular docking seems to be a feasible approach for future studies to predict and reveal the mechanisms of DP behavior and health effects in human tissues.

The interaction mechanisms of co-existing polybrominated diphenyl ethers and engineered nanoparticles in environmental waters: A critical review

This review focuses on the occurrence and interactions of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in water systems and the generation of highly complex compounds in the environment. The release of ENPs and BFRs (e.g. PBDEs) to aquatic environments during their usage and disposal are summarised together with their key interaction mechanisms. The major interaction mechanisms including electrostatic, van der Waals, hydrophobic, molecular bridging and steric, hydrogen and π-bonding, cation bridging and ligand exchange were identified. The presence of ENPs could influence the fate and behaviour of PBDEs through the interactions as well as induced reactions under certain conditions which increases the formation of complex compounds. The interaction leads to alteration of behaviour for PBDEs and their toxic effects to ecological receptors. The intermingled compound (ENPs-BFRs) would show different behaviour from the parental ENPs or BFRs, which are currently lack of investigation. This review provided insights on the interactions of ENPs and BFRs in artificial, environmental water systems and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which are important for a comprehensive risk assessment.

Changes in Thrombelastography in Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and the Relationship with Lung Function

Purpose

To analyze the changes in thrombelastography (TEG) in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and the relationship with indicators related to lung function.

Methods

100 patients with AECOPD admitted to our hospital from May 2021 to May 2022 were selected as the AE group, and another 80 patients with a stable phase of COPD in the same period were selected as the SP group. Fresh blood specimens were collected from both groups, and TEG-related indicators (R value, K value, α-angle, MA value) were measured using the TEG technique, and lung function-related indicators (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1%) were measured using a lung function meter, and the correlation between TEG-related indicators and lung function-related indicators was analyzed.

Results

Patients in the AE group had lower R and K values and higher α-angle and MA values than those in the SP group, all with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Patients in the AE group had lower FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, and FEV1% levels than those in the SP group, all with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that the R value in TEG of AECOPD patients was positively correlated with pulmonary function-related indicators (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1%) (r = 0.565, 0.529, 0.447, 0.527, all P < 0.001); K value was positively correlated with pulmonary function-related indicators (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1%) (r = 0.512, 0.567, 0.459, 0.439, all P < 0.001); α-angle was inversely correlated with pulmonary function-related indicators (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1%) (r = -0.498, -0.372, -0.408, -0.424, all P < 0.001); MA value was inversely correlated with lung function-related indicators (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1%) (r = -0.459, -0.429, -0.394, -0.403, all P < 0.001).

Conclusion

There is a correlation between TEG-related indicators and lung function-related indicators in AECOPD patients, both of which can guide the diagnosis and treatment process of the disease and are worthy of clinical promotion. The clinical registration number is EA2021086.

Effects of Shenkang Injection Combined with Jinshuibao on Early Diabetic Nephropathy and Effects on Coagulation Fibrinolysis System and Urinary Protein

Purpose

To explore the effect of Shenkang injection (SKI) combined with Jinshuibao for early diabetic nephropathy (DN) and its effect on the coagulation fibrinolysis system and urinary protein.

Methods

136 patients with early DN admitted to our hospital from March 2018 to October 2019 were divided into the observation group (n = 68) and the control group (n = 68) randomly. On the basis of the conventional treatment, the control group was treated with SKI, and the observation group was treated with SKI and Jinshuibao. Two weeks later, the therapeutic effects of the 2 groups were compared. The prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen (FIB), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and D-dimer (D-D) were observed and compared before and after the treatment. 24 hour urine total protein (24 h-UTP), urine albumin excretion rate (UAER), and urine β 2 microglobulin (β 2-MG) were measured and compared before and after the treatment. Adverse reactions in the two groups were recorded during the treatment.

Results

The effective rate of the observation group after treatment was 92.65% higher than the control group 79.41%. the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The levels of PT, APTT, TT, FIB, PAI-1, and D-D in the two groups after treatment were lower, and t-PA levels after treatment were higher than those before, and all of the above indicators were significantly changed in the observation group than in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The 24 h-UTP, UAER, and β 2-MG in the two groups after treatment were lower than those before, and all of the above indicators were significantly changed in the observation group than in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference during the treatment for 2 groups in terms of adverse reactions. The difference was statistically significant (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

SKI combined with Jinshuibao has a significant effect in the treatment of early DN, which can reduce the risk of hyperfunction of coagulation and fibrinolysis system, further reduce the content of urine protein, and delay the process of DN.

A Pilot Study on the Concentration, Distribution and Bioaccumulation of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Tissues and Organs of Grassland Sheep

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations in various tissues and organs of grassland sheep from Inner Mongolia, China, were determined. The abilities of PBDEs binding to ovine serum albumin (OSA) and Cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP3A24) were assessed by fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular docking simulations. The PBDE concentrations in the sheep tissue and organ samples were 33.4-167 pg/g dw. The distribution of PBDEs in sheep organs and tissues is affected not only by the function of organs and tissues, but also by the characteristics of PBDEs. Adipose tissue tends to bioaccumulate more-brominated BDEs (BDE-154, -153, and -183), but muscle tissues and visceral organs mainly bioaccumulate less-brominated BDEs. The distribution of PBDEs in visceral organs is mainly affected by the transport of ovine serum albumin (OSA) and the metabolism of CYP3A24 enzyme. The distribution of PBDEs in adipose tissue and brain is mainly affected by their logKOW.

Using Human Serum Albumin Binding Affinities as a Proactive Strategy to Affect the Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics of Preclinical Drug Candidates

We report on a new preclinical drug optimization strategy that measures drug candidates' binding affinity with human serum albumin (HSA) as an assessment of increasing or decreasing serum T1/2. Three common scaffolds were used as drug prototypes. Common polar and nonpolar substituents attached to the scaffolds have been identified as opportunities for increasing or decreasing the HSA binding affinity. This approach of adjusting HSA binding could be proactively established for preclinical drug candidates by appending functionality to sites on the drug scaffold not involved in biological target interactions. This strategy complements other medicinal chemistry efforts to identify longer or shorter human dosing regimens.

Inhibition of Homeobox D10 Alleviates Acute Kidney Injury by Upregulating PI3K/AKT Signaling Proteins

Purpose. To observe the protective effect of homeobox D10 (HOXD10) on acute kidney injury (AKI) by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway is the purpose of this study.Methods. 30 rats were randomly divided into three groups: blank control group, model group, and HOXD10 interference group. The kidney function indexes, HOXD10 protein expression, histopathological features, tubulointerstitial injury, and PI3K and AKT protein expression levels of the three groups were analyzed. Results. Compared with the blank control group, the kidney weight, BUN and SCr in model group increased significantly, and TIL score was higher ( $P>0.05$ ). The expression of HOXD10 in model group and HOXD10 interference group were higher than blank control group, and the expression of HOXD10 in HOXD10 interference group was lower than model group ( $P<0.05$ ). After we administered HOXD10 blocker to AKI rats, pathological sections by HE staining showed that the kidney tissue damage was significantly reduced compared with the model group, and the expression levels of BUN and SCr in kidney tissue decreased, and the TIL score decreased. The expression of p-PI3K and p-AKT decreased after kidney injury. Compared with the model group, the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT in HOXD10 interference group were significantly increased ( $P<0.05$ ). Conclusion. Downregulation of HOXD10 can play a protective role on AKI by activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which can reduce tubulointerstitial injury and improve kidney function.

Investigation on Health Promotion by the Typical Sports for Teenagers with Self-Efficacy and Sports Commitment Questionnaires

This work studied the health promotion by the typical sports using self-efficacy and sports commitment questionnaires for 804 teenagers, who were from different interest-oriented sport classes. Five typical interest-oriented sport classes were selected due to the difference in sport characteristics: basketball, swimming, tennis, taekwondo, and archery. Statistical analyses, ANOVA analysis, and multiple comparisons (with least significant difference, LSD) were applied to the collected data. It has been found that boys and girls have similar self-efficacy of adolescent sports health. Adolescents' self-efficacy of sports health has significant differences among different sports items, where the basketball group scored the highest. Adolescents in the professional level have the highest self-efficacy of sports health, whereas the skillful level and beginner level have no significant difference. The male students are more enthusiastic and fond of sports than female students. There are significant differences between sports commitment and sports health of adolescents in different sports, where the basketball group scored the highest. Exercise induces higher score of sports commitment; however, no significant difference is observed for the skillful level and the beginner level. The significant positive correlation is found between sports health and self-efficacy and sports commitment, self-efficacy, and sports commitment. Besides, the role of self-efficacy is partial intermediary between sports health and sports commitment.

Osimertinib Improves Overall Survival in Patients with Leptomeningeal Metastases Associated with EGFR-Mutated Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Regardless of Cerebrospinal Fluid T790M Mutational Status

Osimertinib has demonstrated promising efficacy against leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) associated with T790M-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the effect of cerebrospinal fluid's (CSF's) epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation on osimertinib efficacy remains unclear.Seventy-eight patients were studied with EGFR-mutated NSCLC and LM. Case data were collected and EGFR mutation status of circulating cell-free DNA from paired CSF, and plasma of 23 patients with LM was detected using droplet digital PCR. The median overall survival (mOS) was 8.08 months (95% CI: 6.07-10.09) in the study. Forty-four osimertinib-treated patients had an improved mOS of 13.15 (95% CI: 5.74-20.57) and a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 9.50 months (95% CI: 6.77-12.23) when compared with patients treated with first- or second-generation EGFR-TKI (mOS = 3.00 months (95% CI: 1.32-4.68) and median PFS = 1.50 months (95% CI: 0.00-3.14)). In the osimertinib group, mOS values for CSF with and without T790M mutation were 22.15 months (95% CI: 9.44-34.87) and 13.39 months (95% CI: 7.01-19.76), respectively, with no statistical differences. Regardless of the CSF T790M mutation status, osimertinib demonstrated significant efficacy against LM associated with NSCLC.

Organophosphate esters and their metabolites in paired human whole blood, serum, and urine as biomarkers of exposure

Although organophosphate diester (di-OPE) metabolites in urine are usually used to assess human exposure to organophosphate esters (OPEs), whether they can reflect human exposure to all OPEs with great differences in chemical structures and properties is still currently unclear. In this study, we detected sixteen OPEs and ten di-OPEs in 52 paired whole blood, serum, and urine samples collected in Beijing, China to investigate the correlations between different compounds and matrices, thus providing proper biomarkers of human exposure to OPEs. The order of the median concentrations of ∑OPEs was whole blood (8.63 ng/mL) > serum (5.71 ng/mL) > urine (0.396 ng/mL), while those of ∑di-OPEs followed the order of urine (16.6 ng/mL) > whole blood (5.97 ng/mL) > serum (3.70 ng/mL). Ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) and cresyl diphenyl phosphate (CDPP) were the dominant OPEs in both whole blood and serum samples and were significantly correlated between these two matrices. The distribution of OPEs in human blood was evaluated according to serum-to-whole blood concentration ratios (S:WB ratios). The median S:WB ratios of triethyl phosphate (TEP), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), bisphenol-A bis(diphenyl phosphate) (BABP), EHDPP, and CDPP were lower than 1, indicating that these OPEs preferred to accumulated in blood cells rather than in serum/plasma. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (BEHP) was the major di-OPEs and was detected in almost all whole blood, serum and urine samples. The median whole blood: urine (WB:UR) ratios of di-OPEs were significantly and positively correlated with their logK_ow values, indicating that di-OPEs with low hydrophobicity were prone to excretion via urine. Based on the relationships between OPEs and di-OPEs in these matrices, the parent OPEs in whole blood can be recommended for use as alternative biomarkers of aryl-OPEs exposure in future human biomonitoring studies, in addition to metabolites in urine.

Levels and congener profiles of halogenated persistent organic pollutants in human serum and semen at an e-waste area in South China

Typical halogenated persistent organic pollutants (Hal-POPs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), are a group of ubiquitous organic pollutants with an endocrine disrupting effect. This study evaluated the accumulation and congener profiles of Hal-POPs in the bodies of men who live/work in areas of South China where electronic wastes are collected and managed, especially in their semen samples. The results show that the detection frequency and serum concentrations of Hal-POP congeners within the high-exposure group (HEG) were higher than those of the low-exposure group (LEG). Furthermore, an identical trend was observed for the seminal plasma concentrations of Hal-POPs. The distribution characteristics, such as their mean, median, and discrete values, of PBDE congeners in serum and semen samples from the same subjects were consistent with each other. However, the distribution characteristics of PCB congeners in serum samples were different from those in semen samples. BDE153 was one of the most abundant congeners found in the serum and semen samples; hence, it can be identified as an indicator PBDE congener. Further research is needed to explore the mechanism of Hal-POPs distribution in human semen and serum samples.