Ecotoxicological evaluation of foundry sands and cosmetic sludges using new earthworm biomarkers

The management and final disposal of industrial wastes are a matter of considerable human concern. The present study evaluates the cyto/genotoxic effects and changes of the coelomic cell formulas exerted by aqueous leachates and solid waste (SW) of two industrial residues using coelomocytes extruded from Eisenia fetida. The assayed wastes corresponded to industrial foundry and cosmetic activities. After 14 days of exposure, we obtained a group of endpoints that reflect the toxicity/genotoxicity, coelomocyte formula and indexes; and the mortality classical value (LC50-14d). Among the variables measured, total coelomocytes formula (eleocytes + amebocytes + granulocytes) appears as a single and easy parameter to assess the toxicity of eluates at short exposure times. We applied a set of assays using earthworms as test organism that would allow evaluating SW as well as its aqueous leachates. It is easy to run trials combining exposures of 1 h to 14 days, which can be integrated into the implementation of the traditional test for evaluating acute toxicity.

Reducing unnecessary morbidity from percutaneous thermocoagulation in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Part B: a computerized protocol for quantitative analysis of data for radiofrequency thermocoagulation with the quadripolar electrode method and technique

OBJECTIVES

An original method and technique was designed to reduce the still significant morbidity of percutaneous thermocoagulation in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. A critical part of this technique is the computerized analysis of data, which is the subject of this report.

METHOD

We fully describe the computerized program for data collection and analysis, which is designed to evaluate addressed and unaddressed aspects of trigeminal neuralgia using the quadripolar electrode method and technique.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The computerized analysis of multiple clinical and radiological variables, including verbal responses from 34 facial subsegments, allows the description of the somatotopic map of the human gasserian ganglion, and the conclusions propose to attempt to abolish unnecessary residual morbidity of thermocoagulation in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

Impact of EMS outreach: successful developments in Latin America

This collection of articles was inspired by the long-standing relationship between the Environmental Mutagen Society and Latin American scientists, and by the program for the 39th Environmental Mutagen Society meeting in Puerto Rico in 2008, which included a symposium featuring "South of the border" scientists. This collection, compiled by Graciela Spivak and Ofelia Olivero, both originally from Argentina, highlights scientists who work in or were trained in Latin American countries and in Puerto Rico in a variety of scientific specialties related to DNA repair and cancer susceptibility, genomic organization and stability, genetic diversity, and environmental contaminants.

Molecular cytogenetic characterization of desmoid tumors

Desmoid tumors are benign neoplasms of the fibromatosis group. Data on their acquired chromosomal changes are sparse and, therefore, we wanted to ascertain what genomic losses and gains these tumors may have incurred. DNA was extracted from a total of 26 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded desmoid tumors followed by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (I-FISH) analyses. Ten of 12 informative tumors were normal by CGH; the two abnormal ones had loss of chromosome 6 and loss of 6q and gain of chromosome 20, respectively. I-FISH analyses with an alpha-satellite probe specific for chromosome 8 of 26 desmoids, including one tumor that by karyotyping had +i(8)(q10), showed no evident abnormalities. An explanation for the relatively high frequency of genomically normal tumors by CGH seen in this study may be sought in the fact that as many as 10 of the 12 informative tumors were abdominal desmoids, a subset of tumors also previously found to exhibit genomic changes only rarely. It is therefore possible that abdominal desmoids might be non-neoplastic tumors or neoplastic tumors with genetic changes too small to be discovered by CGH, whereas desmoid tumors from other locations exhibit detectable genomic changes at a significantly higher frequency.

Radiation-associated sarcomas are characterized by complex karyotypes with frequent rearrangements of chromosome arm 3p

Ionizing radiation is a well-known risk factor for sarcoma development. To investigate whether radiation-associated sarcomas are characterized by chromosome aberrations that distinguish them from de novo sarcomas, we identified those patients in our series of more than 500 cytogenetically abnormal sarcomas that fulfilled the following criteria: (1) each patient should have been irradiated for another malignancy at least 3 years prior to the sarcoma diagnosis, and (2) the sarcoma should have developed within the field of radiation. Ten patients fulfilling these criteria could be retrieved (median age at sarcoma diagnosis was 55 years, range 17-79; median latency period between primary tumor and radiation-associated sarcoma was 9 years, range 4-30). The diagnoses were typical for radiation-associated sarcomas: 2 each of malignant fibrous histiocytoma, leiomyosarcoma, and pleomorphic sarcoma, and 1 each of osteosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma, and spindle cell sarcoma. All 10 cases had relatively complex karyotypes with multiple, mostly unbalanced, structural rearrangements, similar to what has been reported in de novo sarcomas of the corresponding histologic subtypes. The only cytogenetic features that were unusually frequent among the radiation-associated sarcomas were the finding of unrelated clones in 3 cases, and loss of material from chromosome arm 3p, in particular 3p21-3pter, in 8 cases. Loss of the same chromosome segment has been described in 4 of the 8 previously published cases of radiation-associated sarcomas that have been analyzed after short-term culturing, which makes this imbalance significantly (P < 0.001) more frequent among radiation-associated sarcomas (12 of 18 cases) than among unselected cases of the corresponding histologic subtypes (74 of 282 cases). In contrast to the cytogenetic results, no 3p deletions were detected among the 6 cases of the present series that could be analyzed by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The most frequent imbalance detected by CGH was gain of 15cen-q15 (3 cases), followed by loss of chromosome 13 and gain of 5p, and 7cen-q22, each detected in 2 cases.

Chromosomal breakpoints and changes in DNA copy number in refractory acute myeloid leukemia

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to detect changes in DNA copy number in 25 cases of refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). CGH detected changes in DNA copy number in nine AML (36%). Losses (82%) were more frequent than gains (18%). No high-level amplifications were detected in any of the cases. Losses involved minimal overlapping regions at 5q14q32, 7q31.2q32 and 12p12. The most frequent gain was detected at 8q. CGH gave normal results in all cases with a normal karyotype or a translocation as the sole aberration. The absence of high-level DNA copy gains suggests that, in contrast to other malignancies, gene amplification is not an important mechanism for drug resistance in AML. In addition to 5q and 7q, known to be associated with disease refractoriness, 12p may be another region related to poor prognosis.

Clonal CD5-positive B lymphocytes in myelodysplastic syndrome with systemic vasculitis and trisomy 8

Bone marrow and peripheral blood from a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patient with trisomy 8 and associated systemic vasculitis was investigated for clonal lymphoid lineage involvement using simultaneous metaphase and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunocytochemistry with antibodies against CD13 (granulocytic), glycophorin A (GPA, erythroid), and the lymphocytic antigens CD3. CD5, CD20, and CD22. Trisomy 8 was detected in 55% of CD13+, 40% of GPA+, 6% of CD5+, and 5% of CD20/22+, but not in CD3+ cells. In a complementary experiment using interphase FISH on bone marrow cells sorted by flow cytometry, 13% of CD5/CD19 double-positive cells (76% purity) were found to be trisomic. The results indicate the existence of a small CD5-positive B-lymphoid clone as part of the MDS process in this patient. Since CD5/19-positive cells have been proposed to be autoantibody producing, this finding might be a clue to the pathogenesis underlying the propensity for MDS patients to develop immune-mediated complications.

Myeloid lineage involvement in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a morphology antibody chromosomes (MAC) study

We looked for clonal chromosomal abnormalities in myeloid cell lineages in the bone marrow aspirates from six children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The study was carried out using a combination of MAC (morphology, antibody, chromosomes) and in situ hybridization procedures. In patients whose leukemic cells expressed only lymphoid antigens, we found chromosomal aberrations in CD10- and CD20/22-positive lymphoid cells. Mature CD22+ and CD3+ lymphocytes did not have the chromosomal aberrations. In one patient whose leukemic cells also expressed myeloid-associated antigens, the clonal chromosome aberrations were seen not only in the CD10+ and CD19+ blasts, but also in glycophorin A-positive morphologically nonleukemic erythroblasts.

Analysis of phenotype and genotype of individual cells in neoplasms

The authors describe a combination technique enabling detection of in situ hybridization (ISH) signals from chromosome-specific probes in interphase or mitotic cells that still retain the alkaline phosphatase antialkaline phosphatase (APAAP) or Sudan black B (SBB) staining reactions (simultaneous detection) or have been first classified morphologically and then by APAAP or SBB. The technique can be used on cell suspensions, in situ cultures and tissue sections. Examples from leukemias (chronic lymphocytic, myeloid, and acute myeloid leukemia) and solid tumors (chondromyxoid fibroma and glioblastoma) illustrate the potential of the technique in investigation of cancer tissue heterogeneity. In leukemias, it can be used to study cell lineage involvement, stem cells, and minimal residual disease, as well as to monitor therapy. In solid tumors, it can be used to identify neoplastic areas of tissue and to track the site of origin of neoplastic cells. Finally, it can be used to study the significance of chromosome abnormalities in carcinogenesis.

Molecular cytogenetic study of patients with Pallister-Killian syndrome

The Pallister-Killian syndrome (PKS) is characterized by tissue limited chromosomal mosaicism, i.e. the presence of a supernumerary metacentric chromosome [i(12p)] often confined to skin fibroblasts while the karyotype of cultured lymphocytes is normal. In the present study, chromosome painting by chromosomal in situ suppression (CISS) hybridization and interphase cytogenetic procedures employing biotinylated or digoxigenin labelled probes was carried out. These probes comprised a chromosome 12 specific library (LA 12NS01) and chromosome 12 centromere specific alpha-satellite (pSP12-1). They were used to analyse and quantify the presence of i(12p) in lymphocytes, granulocytes/monocytes, skin fibroblasts and buccal mucosal cells from five patients and one aborted fetus with PKS, and ten normal donors. CISS hybridization on mitotic skin fibroblasts reliably indicated the presence of i(12p) cells, even when metaphases of poor quality were included in the analysis. Two of the five patients showed i(12p) in a small proportion (< or = 0.5%) of the cultured lymphocytes too. The interphase cytogenetics procedure did not reveal the isochromosome in lymphocytes or granulocytes/monocytes in any of the patients. Two of the six patients had a twofold increase in the number of buccal mucosal cells with three hybridization signals over control values. However, for mucosal cells, methodological improvements are required. For cytogenetic diagnosis of PKS, cultured fibroblasts subjected to chromosome painting by CISS hybridization with a chromosome 12 specific library probe are recommended.

Sister chromatid differentiation and chromosomal in situ suppression hybridization: a combined methodology for analyzing cell proliferation and SCEs in individual chromosomes

A technique combining sister chromatid differentiation (SCD) with chromosomal in situ suppression (CISS) hybridization is described. This combined methodology allows simultaneous analysis of cell-proliferation kinetics and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in chromosomes identified by probes. To demonstrate the usefulness of this approach, cultured fibroblasts from a patient with Pallister-Killian syndrome, mos46/47,+i(12p), a chromosome mosaicism disorder, were studied. The fibroblasts were cultured in the presence of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for 72 h. Chromosome preparations were stained by a modified fluorescence-plus-Giemsa method to obtain SCD. For identification of the normal chromosome 12 and the i(12p), CISS hybridization with a biotin-labeled chromosome 12-specific library probe (LA 12NS01) was carried out after SCD. The hybridization was detected by an indirect immunofluorescence technique. For the analysis of cell kinetics and SCEs, the technique allows rapid, reliable identification of abnormal and normal cell populations. It also allows analysis of SCEs in individual chromosomes.

X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and de novo t(X;1) in a female

A de novo translocation (X;1)(q13.1;p36.33) was found in a 2-year-old girl with typical clinical features of X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (EDA). The breakpoint at Xq13.1 is approximately the same as has been described in 2 other EDA females with X;autosome translocations.

The asymmetric methylation of CG palindromic dinucleotides increases sister-chromatid exchanges

Treatment with the base analogue, 5azaC, increases SCEs in CHO but not in mosquito cells. On the other hand, both types of cells show equivalent increases in exchanges when treated with other compounds, such as mitomycin C. Vertebrate DNA is heavily methylated while diptera DNA is heavily demethylated. The sequence of events leading to an increase in SCEs in CHO cells is as follows: first of all, Cs are replaced by 5azaC; in the next cell cycle, CG palindromic dinucleotides exhibit an asymmetric configuration, the Cs in the parental DNA strand being methylated and the Cs in the daughter DNA strand demethylated; after one more cycle, half of the chromosomes show symmetric methylation and the other half symmetric demethylation of both Cs in CG palindromes. The increase of SCEs occurs in the second cell cycle when the hemimethylated DNA enters replication. DNA hemimethylation is believed to be an intermediate stage in the process of demethylation that accompanies gene expression. If so, gene demethylation would be a cause of SCE increase in normal vertebrate cells.

Iron-mediated induction of sister-chromatid exchanges by hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion

When Chinese hamster fibroblasts were exposed to hydrogen peroxide or to a system consisting of xanthine oxidase and hypoxanthine, which generates superoxide anion plus hydrogen peroxide, sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) were formed in a dose-dependent manner. When the iron-complexing agent o-phenanthroline was present in the medium, however, the production of these SCEs was completely inhibited. This fact indicates that the Fenton reaction: Fe2+ + H2O2----OH0 + OH- + Fe3+ is responsible for the production of SCEs. When O2- and H2O2 were generated inside the cell by incubation with menadione, the production of SCE was prevented by co-incubation with copper diisopropylsalicylate, a superoxide dismutase mimetic agent. The most likely role of O2- is as a reducing agent of Fe3+: O2- + Fe3+----Fe2+ + O2, so that the sum of this and the Fenton reaction, i.e., the iron-catalyzed Haber-Weiss reaction, provides an explanation for the active oxygen species-induced SCE: H2O2 + O2(-)----OH- + OH0 + O2. According to this view, the OH radical thus produced is the agent which ultimately causes SCE. These results are discussed in comparison with other mechanisms previously proposed for induction of SCE by active oxygen species.

Effect of low-dose acute X-irradiation on the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in human peripheral lymphocytes in vitro

In a coordinated research programme sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations induced in peripheral blood lymphocytes (in vitro) by 250 kV X-rays at low doses (0.4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 30 rad) were determined. Blood from 2 donors was used to conduct one master experiment at these dose levels. The culture time used was 48 h and all samples including the controls were processed according to a standard protocol. The coded slides were scored by investigators from 10 participating laboratories. The main results are the following: (1) the frequencies of all types of chromosome aberrations at 0.4 rad are significantly lower than the control values; (2) there is no increase in the frequencies of dicentrics up to 2 rad and in those of terminal deletions up to 5 rad; (3) the mean frequencies of all aberrations considered together are not significantly different from one another at 1, 2 and 3 rad (P = 0.05); and (4) over the entire dose range the dose-effect relationship is clearly non-linear. A fit of these data to a linear quadratic model (E(D) = c + alpha D + beta D2) showed that the observed total aberration frequencies at doses 1, 2, 3 and 5 rad are below the curve defined by the model. The deviations can be explained by an altered kinetics of aberration production at very low doses probably due to DNA repair mechanisms operating these cells.

Chromosomal radiosensitivity of pig leucocytes in relation to sampling time

Pig blood cultures were used to analyse the sensitivity to X-rays (measured as frequency of induced dicentrics) of lymphocytes sampled at variable times. By using the BrdU-Giemsa method it was possible to identify the lymphocytes that were performing their first division at early (less than 30% of cells in second division), intermediate (30-50% of cells in second or subsequent divisions) and late stages (more than 50% of cells in second or subsequent divisions). No difference was found in the radiosensitivity of these 3 varieties of lymphocyte. It was also observed that: (a) the combination of radiation followed by BrdU treatment did not increase the clastogenic action of X-rays, (b) X-rays in the dose used in our cultures did not increase the frequency of SCEs, and (c) minor changes in culture conditions probably influence the basal frequency of SCEs.

Kinetics of human lymphocyte division and chromosomal radiosensitivity

Human blood from normal donors was irradiated with 200 R during the Go phase, and the X-ray sensitivity of early and late dividing lymphocytes in culture was expressed as percentage of induced dicentrics. Cells in first or subsequent divisions were individualized by BrdU-Giemsa techniques. Lymphocytes in the first division at 40, 44 and 72 h after the start of culture had a lower sensitivity to radiation than lymphocytes making their first division at 48, 52 and 56 h. It was observed that: (a) the combination of radiation followed by BrdU did not increase the clastogenic action of X-rays, (b) X-rays in the dose and duration used in our cultures did not increase the frequency of SCEs, and (c) minor changes in culture conditions probably influenced the frequency of SCEs.

Cytogenetics of South American akodont rodents (Cricetidae). V. Segregation of chromosome No. 1 polymorphism in Akodon molinae

Akodon molinae is polymorphic with 2n=42, 43, 44, where the metacentric autosome No. 1 is homologous to 2 acrocentrics 1a and 1b. Matings between 2n=43 heterozygotes 1/1a, 1b gave a surplus of 1/1 offspring, a moderate reduction of heterozygous and a strong reduction of homozygous 1a, 1b/1a, 1b offspring. The latter type also has a highly reduced fertility.