The cells of a human oral spirochete, Treponema denticola ATCC 35405, and of seven clinical isolates of this organism obtained from the subgingival dental plaque of periodontitis patients were studied for their ability to grow in an aerobic and an anaerobic environment, and for their profile of peptidohydrolase and oxidoreductase enzymes. The growth yield of aerobically grown cultures was eithe...

Of the hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), only UGT1A1 and UGT1A9 exhibit activity against benzo(a)pyrene-trans-7R,8R-dihydrodiol [BPD(-)], precursor to the highly mutagenic anti-(+)-benzo(a)pyrene-7R,8S-dihydrodiol-9S,10R-epoxide. The UGT1A1*28 allelic variant contains an additional (TA) dinucleotide repeat in the "TATAA" box [(TA)(6)>(TA)(7)] of the UGT1A1 promoter that has been link...

Prostaglandin H synthase (PHS), an arachidonic acid-dependent peroxidase, has been implicated in the peroxidative activation of carcinogenic aromatic amines in extrahepatic carcinogen target tissues of experimental animals. We have examined the arachidonic acid-dependent activation of [3H]benzidine to DNA-bound products by microsomal preparations from 75 normal human tissues obtained during nec...

The incidence of bladder tumours in workers in the dyestuffs industry was first described by Rehn in 1895 and 1906. Leuenberger reported 41 cases in 1912, and by the third decade of this century in Europe exposure to beta naphthylamine and to benzidine had been accepted as a cause of bladder tumours by Kennaway (1924), Berenblum and Bonser (1937), Goldblatt (1949), and Muller (1951). In the U.S...

The abuse of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) has been increasing dramatically worldwide since late 2000s. By the end of 2015, more than 560 NPS had been reported to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Although the most popular compounds are synthetic cannabinoids and psychostimulatory derivatives of cathinone (so-called β-keto-amphetamines), novel synthetic opioids ...