Mycotoxicoses are acute and chronic poisonings caused by mould toxins called mycotoxins. Although acute mycotoxicoses, caused by high mycotoxin levels in food are rare nowadays, they need to be described in order to inform physicians and other health care workers about their symptoms. Children are more sensitive to mycotoxins because of their lower body mass, higher metabolic rate, and underdev...

Immunotoxicity encompasses both reduced and heightened immune function. Diverse chemicals can impair functioning of the immune system. Both monographs and books have been devoted to detailed descriptions of immunotoxicity. This paper gives a brief overview of the methods currently used to assess the immunotoxic potential of chemicals. It also discusses the trend toward the use of alternative me...

Background Retroviral based biopharmaceuticals are used in numerous therapeutic applications, from gene therapy to vaccination [1-3]. Nonetheless, retroviruses are known to incorporate proteins from the host cell which may increase the vector immunotoxicity [4]. CD81, a membrane protein belonging to the tetraspanin superfamily has been recently identified as one of the host cell proteins majorl...

The immune system is the most vulnerable system regarding toxicity of pesticides. Any alteration in the immune functions makes an individual immunocompromised and more susceptible to cancer, infections, autoimmunity and allergies. Deltamethrin is the most popular type 2 pyrethroid insecticide which is widely use in agriculture and home due to restriction on the organophosphate insecticides. Due...

Beryllium induces non-caseating granulomatous inflammation in humans exposed to the metal dust or fumes in both occupational and non-occupational settings. The resulting condition, chronic beryllium disease (CBD), affects principally the lungs, lymphatics, and skin and continues to plague modern industry. Beryllium exerts several important immunotoxic effects, including induction of a beryllium...

Numerous studies have reported positive associations of environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) with the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In a case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study, a prospective cohort of U.S. women, we measured concentrations of PCBs and p,p'-DDE in blood samples from 145 women diagn...

BACKGROUND Lactococcus lactis has been safely consumed in fermented foods for millennia. This Gram-positive bacterium has now become of industrial importance as an expression host for the overproduction of lipopolysaccharide-free recombinant proteins used as food ingredients, therapeutic proteins and biotechnological enzymes. RESULTS This paper reports an agmatine-controlled expression (ACE) ...