Knowledge of the ability of the female reproductive system to metabolize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is critical to the diagnosis and management of female infertility and for risk assessment purposes. The PAHs are a family of widespread pollutants that are released into the environment from automobile exhausts, cigarette smoke, burning of refuse, industrial emissions, and hazardous ...

BACKGROUND Parents of children with autism have higher rates of broad autism phenotype (BAP) features than parents of typically developing children (TDC) in Western countries. This study was designed to examine the rate of BAP features in parents of children with autism and the relationship between parental BAP and the social impairment of their children in a Chinese sample. METHODS A total o...

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a ubiquitously distributed environmental pollutant. BaP is a known carcinogen and can induce malignant transformation of rodent and human cells. Many evidences suggest that inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) is potent anticancer drug candidate. However, the effect of PARG on BaP carcinogenesis remains unclear. We explored this question in a PARG-deficien...

The plant hormones cytokinins (CKs) regulate multiple developmental and physiological processes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Responses to CKs vary in different organs and tissues (e.g. the response to CKs has been shown to be opposite in shoot and root samples). However, the tissue-specific targets of CKs and the mechanisms underlying such specificity remain largely unclear. Here, we ...

Repeated cycles of vascular injury by benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) increase the onset and progression of atherosclerotic lesions in laboratory animals. This atherogenic response is partly mediated by activation of cis-acting antioxidant/electrophile response elements that enhance c-Ha-ras transcription in vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs). Activation of antioxidant/electrophile responsive cis-acting...

Explants of leaves, petals, anthers, styles and ovaries of C. speciosus, C. cancellatus, C. gilanicus and C. almehensis were cultured on LS media with three different combinations of NAA and BAP in the dark. Callus and neoformant organs (leaf and corm-like structure and ordinary and contractileroots) were fomd on some of these explants. Corm explants from these species were also cultured on...

Bone remodeling is altered in all metabolic bone diseases, especially in post-menopausal women and in the elderly. Predicting changes in bone mineral density (BMD) is useful to manage the progression of such diseases and to potentially provide interventions in reducing fracture risk. Continuous bone formation and resorption processes can be monitored by measuring biochemical markers of bone tur...

Many studies using mammalian cellular and subcellular systems have demonstrated that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), are metabolically activated by cytochrome P450s (CYPs). In order to evaluate the role of hepatic versus extra-hepatic metabolism of BaP and its pharmacokinetics, we used the hepatic cytochrome P450 reductase null (HRN) mouse model, in which cytoc...

Chemical-DNA adducts provide an integrated measure of exposure, absorption, bioactivation, detoxification, and DNA repair following exposure to a genotoxic agent. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a prototypical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), can be bioactivated by cytochrome P-450s (CYPs) and epoxide hydrolase to genotoxic metabolites which form covalent adducts with DNA. In this study, we utilize...