Organophosphorus pesticide exposure from house dust and parent-reported child behavior in Latino children from an orchard community

BACKGROUND

Organophosphorus pesticide (OP) exposure is known to have adverse effects on the nervous system. Children from agricultural communities are at risk of exposure to these chemicals from their indoor environments that can lead to neurological and developmental problems, including changes in behavior.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the take-home pathway exposure is associated with behavioral and emotional problems in Latino Orchid Community children.

METHOD

The study was implemented over a period of two years (2008-2010) in an orchard farming community with a total of 324 parents who had children between the ages of 5-12 years old. Mothers of the children were asked to complete the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and dust from their carpets was collected. Emotional and behavioral deficits were assessed based on the CBCL and house dust was assessed for OP concentrations. In this study, correlations between OPs in house dust and CBCL subscales were estimated using linear regression models with total OP concentrations classified by tertiles. This study also facilitated the comparison between the agricultural and non-agricultural families in terms of behavioral deficits and house dust concentrations of pesticides.

RESULTS

The data from the study shows that there was a positive association between the concentration of OP residues in house dust and internalizing behavior (β=2.06, p=0.05) whereas the association with externalizing behavior was not significant after accounting for sociocultural covariates. Significant positive associations of OP residues with somatic problems (p=0.02) and thought problems (p=0.05) were also found.

CONCLUSION

The data support a potential role of OP exposure in childhood development, with a specific focus on internalizing behavior. Future work focused on longitudinal studies may uncover the long-term consequences of OP exposure and behavior.

In Vitro and In Vivo SERS Biosensing for Disease Diagnosis

For many disease states, positive outcomes are directly linked to early diagnosis, where therapeutic intervention would be most effective. Recently, trends in disease diagnosis have focused on the development of label-free sensing techniques that are sensitive to low analyte concentrations found in the physiological environment. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that allows for label-free, highly sensitive, and selective detection of analytes through the amplification of localized electric fields on the surface of a plasmonic material when excited with monochromatic light. This results in enhancement of the Raman scattering signal, which allows for the detection of low concentration analytes, giving rise to the use of SERS as a diagnostic tool for disease. Here, we present a review of recent developments in the field of in vivo and in vitro SERS biosensing for a range of disease states including neurological disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and viral disease.

Progesterone receptor-B enhances estrogen responsiveness of breast cancer cells via scaffolding PELP1- and estrogen receptor-containing transcription complexes

Progesterone and estrogen are important drivers of breast cancer proliferation. Herein, we probed ER-alpha and PR cross-talk in breast cancer models. Stable expression of PR-B in PR-low/ER+ MCF7 cells increased cellular sensitivity to estradiol and IGF1, as measured in growth assays performed in the absence of exogenous progestin; similar results were obtained in PR-null/ER+ T47D cells stably expressing PR-B. Genome-wide microarray analyses revealed that unliganded PR-B induced robust expression of a subset of estradiol-responsive ER-target genes, including CathepsinD (CTSD). Estradiol-treated MCF7 cells stably expressing PR-B exhibited enhanced ER Ser167 phosphorylation and recruitment of ER, PR, and the proline, glutamate and leucine rich protein 1 (PELP1) to an estrogen response element (ERE) in the CTSD distal promoter; this complex co-immunoprecipitated with IGF1R in whole cell lysates. Importantly, ER/PR/PELP1 complexes were also detected in human breast cancer samples. Inhibition of IGF1R or PI3K blocked PR-B-dependent CTSD mRNA upregulation in response to estradiol. Similarly, inhibition of IGF1R or PR significantly reduced ER recruitment to the CTSD promoter. Stable knockdown of endogenous PR or onapristone treatment of multiple unmodified breast cancer cell lines blocked estradiol-mediated CTSD induction, inhibited growth in soft agar, and partially restored tamoxifen-sensitivity of resistant cells. Further, combination treatment of breast cancer cells with both onapristone and IGF1R tyrosine kinase inhibitor AEW541 was more effective than either agent alone. In summary, unliganded PR-B enhanced proliferative responses to estradiol and IGF1 via scaffolding of ERalpha/PELP1/IGF1R-containing complexes. Our data provide a strong rationale for targeting PR in combination with ER and IGF1R in patients with luminal breast cancer.

Release of neurohypophysial hormones in vitro

1. The rate of release of neurohypophysial hormones in vitro, using isolated, halved neural lobes of the rat in an incubation medium containing excess K(+) and Ca(2+), was measured. The highest average rate of release was observed between 10 and 20 min after commencement of incubation.2. Incubation of isolated, halved rat neural lobes in the presence of acetylcholine, with or without eserine, did not stimulate hormone release. When complete isolated hypothalamo-neurohypophysial systems were incubated in a suspension medium containing 10(-7) mg/ml. acetylcholine a significant increase in the release of oxytocin occurred (P < 0.01); the increase in vasopressin release was less pronounced (P < 0.05).3. Uptake of O(2) by the isolated, halved neural lobes and the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial systems continued for 2-3 hr, i.e. in excess of the experimental incubation time.4. During the first 40 min of incubation the control halved neural lobes increased in weight; the neural lobes incubated in buffer containing high potassium and calcium showed no increase in weight.5. Neural lobes incubated in buffer containing excess K(+) and Ca(2+) contained about 3 times as much potassium as controls. The sodium content was not affected significantly.6. Factors involved in the process of neurohypophysial hormone release are discussed.

Effects of ether anaesthesia and haemorrhage on hormone storage and ultrastructure of the rat neurohypophysis

Effects of ether anaesthesia with or without haemorrhage were investigated in the rat neurohypophysis in vivo and in vitro. Simultaneous observations were made on hormone release from, and the ultrastructure of, the same neural lobes.

Variable decreases in hormone content were found in the neural lobes of both anaesthetized, and anaesthetized and bled animals. A significant depletion of vasopressin (P < 0·01) occurred in the latter group when related to pressor activity/mg. wet neurohypophysial tissue.

Incubation of neural lobes removed after stimulation showed that the proportions of diffusible (free) vasopressin and oxytocin had increased. Haemorrhage under ether anaesthesia caused a significant increase in the amount of free vasopressin (P < 0·01), but not of oxytocin (P > 0·05).

Examination of control and stimulated rat posterior pituitaries with the electron microscope showed a loss of the electron-dense material from the elementary granules of the neurohypophysial nerve fibres, their swellings and their terminals after the neurones had been subjected to hormone releasing stimuli. It is suggested that disappearance of the electron-dense content of the hormone-carrying granules is not related to hormone content in the gland.

An increased number of small vesicles (250–600 Å) was observed in the nerve fibre swellings of the stimulated posterior pituitary. The distribution, origin and function of these small vesicles is discussed.