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Commun Biol 2022 Jun 21;5(1):613. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Colistin is the last-line antibiotic against Gram-negative pathogens. Here we identify an FDA-approved drug, Otilonium bromide (Ob), which restores the activity of colistin against colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in vitro and in a mouse infection model. Ob also reduces the colistin dosage required for effective treatment of infections caused by colistin-susceptible bacteria, thereby reducing the toxicity of the drug regimen. Read More

Front Med (Lausanne) 2022 1;9:799310. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.

Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, is usually treated with medications such as calcium channel blockers or beta-blockers and invasive treatments such as transcatheter alcohol septal ablation, percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, or heart transplantation. However, non-invasive methods have not been employed for the management of patients with HCM. A 71-year-old male who presented with occasional chest pain for approximately 2 months and had been diagnosed with HCM since he was 39 years old due to occasional fainting was treated with a novel method for HCM using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Read More

Can J Cardiol 2022 Jun 10. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Poison and Drug Information Service, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta; Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta; Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta. Electronic address:

Cocaine is one of the most commonly abused drugs and represents a major public health concern. Cocaine users frequently present to the emergency department, with chest pain being the most common presenting complaint. The incidence of acute myocardial infarction in patients with cocaine-associated chest pain is often quoted as 6%, however is highly variable depending on the included population. Read More

Plant Physiol Biochem 2022 May 26;185:101-111. Epub 2022 May 26.

Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium; Centre for Environmental Sciences (CMK), Hasselt University, Agoralaan D, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium. Electronic address:

Uranium, a heavy metal and primordial radionuclide, is present in surface waters and soils both naturally and due to industrial activities. Uranium is known to be toxic to plants and its uptake and toxicity can be influenced by multiple factors such as pH and the presence of different ions. However, the precise role of the different ions in uranium uptake is not yet known. Read More

Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen 2022 Jun 14;878:503482. Epub 2022 Mar 14.

Laboratorio de Contaminación y Toxicología Ambiental. Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, 63155. Ciudad de la Cultura s/n. Col. Centro, C.P, 63000 Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. Electronic address:

Ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B (FB) are mycotoxins distributed in a wide variety of foods for human or animal consumption and are classified as possible carcinogens for humans. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic, cytostatic and genotoxic effects of OTA and its main metabolite, ochratoxin α (OTα), FB and three combinations of OTA and FB at moderate and environmental doses. Cell viability was evaluated through MTT assay and the trypan blue exclusion method. Read More

Biomedicines 2022 May 17;10(5). Epub 2022 May 17.

Unidad de Excelencia Instituto de Biología y Genética Molecular (IBGM), Universidad de Valladolid and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 47003 Valladolid, Spain.

The molecular basis of amyloid toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains controversial. Amyloid β (Aβ) oligomers promote Ca influx, mitochondrial Ca overload and apoptosis in hippocampal neurons in vivo and in vitro, but the primary Ca entry pathways are unclear. We studied Ca entry pathways induced by Aβ oligomers in rat hippocampal and cerebellar neurons. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2022 05 16;14(5). Epub 2022 May 16.

State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin that can contaminate a wide range of crops such as grains and grapes. In this study, a novel fungal mutant strain (FS-UV-21) with a high OTA degradation rate (74.5%) was obtained from irradiated with ultraviolet light (15 W for 20 min). Read More

Food Chem Toxicol 2022 Jul 20;165:113164. Epub 2022 May 20.

Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100, Burjassot, València, Spain. Electronic address:

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are fungal metabolites of worldwide concern because of their effect on human and animal health, as both have been classified by IARC as possible carcinogens (Group 2B). Beetroot is a source of dietary fiber, folic acid, and vitamin C, and some studies have demonstrated their antioxidant activity. Therefore, this work presents the cytoprotective effect of beetroot extract (BRE) on a neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y cells) exposed to FB1, OTA, and its combination. Read More

Mol Med Rep 2022 Jul 18;26(1). Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Emergency, The Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315020, P.R. China.

It has been reported that the expression of C‑X‑C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is increased in patients with lung injury, while CXCR4 downregulation can improve sepsis‑induced lung injury. Previous studies have shown that tranilast can inhibit CXCR4 mRNA expression. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether tranilast could protect against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‑induced lung injury via the CXCR4/Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/STAT3 signaling pathway. Read More

J Med Case Rep 2022 May 17;16(1):192. Epub 2022 May 17.

Department of Internal Medicine, Emam Sajad Hospital, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran.

Background: Aluminum phosphide (rice tablet) is a highly efficient agent for preserving grains against rodents and insects. It accounts for a large number of poisoning cases. Aluminum phosphide poisoning has a high mortality rate of about 90%, and to date, no antidote is available. Read More

Food Chem Toxicol 2022 Jun 20;164:113045. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Department of Pathology, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, 230012, China. Electronic address:

The widespread usage of plastic products in human life has led to extensive exposure to plasticizers and resulted in serious health problems for humans, which has become a focus of toxicology research in the world. We aimed to explore the potential mechanism of liver insulin resistance induced by di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and working on a novel treatment to alleviate insulin resistance caused by excessive exposure to DEHP. For this purpose, in vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted, and the pivotal factors in the insulin signaling pathway were analyzed. Read More

Toxicon 2022 Jul 19;213:59-75. Epub 2022 Apr 19.

Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Food Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address:

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic metabolite produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium fungi commonly found in raw plant sources and other feeds. This review comprises an extensive evaluation of the origin and proprieties of OTA, toxicokinetics, biotransformation, and toxicodynamics of ochratoxins. In in vitro and in vivo studies, the compatibility of OTA with oxidative stress is observed through the production of free radicals, resulting in genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Read More

Food Chem Toxicol 2022 Jun 18;164:113011. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitat de València, Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100, Burjassot, Spain.

Food and feed are daily exposed to mycotoxin contamination which effects may be counteracted by functional compounds like carotenoids and fermented whey. Among mycotoxins, the most toxic and studied are aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA), which neurotoxicity is not well reported. Therefore, SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells ongoing differentiation were exposed during 7 days to digested bread extracts contained pumpkin and fermented whey, individually and in combination, along with AFB1 and OTA and their combination, in order to evaluate their presumed effects on neuronal differentiation. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 04 15;12(1):6341. Epub 2022 Apr 15.

Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most widespread mycotoxin contaminants of agricultural crops. Despite being associated with a range of adverse health effects, a comprehensive systems-level mechanistic understanding of the toxicity of OTA remains elusive. In the present study, metabolic profiling by high-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) NMR, coupled to intact zebrafish embryos, was employed to identify metabolic pathways in relation to a systems-level model of OTA toxicity. Read More

BMC Pharmacol Toxicol 2022 04 15;23(1):24. Epub 2022 Apr 15.

Department of Pharmacology, Hebei Medical University, The Key Laboratory of Neural and Vascular Biology, Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology for New Drugs, 361 East Zhongshan Road, Shijiazhuang, 050017, PR China.

Background: Inflammation plays a major role in the pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) and the acute lung injury (ALI) diseases. The common feature of these complications is the dysfunction of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs). Fasudil, the only Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor used in clinic, has been proved to be the most promising new drug for the treatment of PAH, with some anti-inflammatory activity. Read More

Pharmacol Res 2022 05 10;179:106219. Epub 2022 Apr 10.

Department of Chemistry and Physics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400, USA. Electronic address:

Metabolic dysregulation is a hallmark of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). AMPK is a crucial hub of metabolic regulation during cancer progression. We show that phytochemical Levo-tetrahydropalmatine (THP) activates AMPK-dependent autophagy to downregulate the mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis. Read More

Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2022 Apr 7;73(1):43-47. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Toxicology Unit, Zagreb, Croatia.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) and citrinin (CTN) are nephrotoxic mycotoxins often found together in grain. The aim of this study was to measure their accumulation in the kidney and liver of adult male Wistar rats, see how it would be affected by combined treatment, and to determine if resveratrol (RSV) would decrease their levels in these organs. The rats received 125 or 250 mg/kg bw of OTA by gavage every day for 21 days and/or 20 mg/kg bw of CTN a day for two days. Read More

Life Sci 2022 Jun 29;298:120506. Epub 2022 Mar 29.

Food Toxicology Laboratory, Food, Drug, and Chemical Toxicology Group, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Vishvigyan Bhawan, 31, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India. Electronic address:

Aims: Kidney is the main target organ for ochratoxin A (OTA) toxicity; however, the mechanism(s) involved in OTA-induced nephrotoxicity is not fully understood. Recently, exosomes, nano-sized vesicles have been found to play an important role in promotion and progression of disease as well as environmental toxicant-induced patho-physiology of toxicity. Hence, we aimed to investigate the role of exosomes in OTA-mediated nephrotoxicity. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2022 Apr 28;235:113447. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China; Institute of Animal Nutritional Health, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China; MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine，Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address:

Ochratoxin A (OTA), frequently existing in the food and feeds, could induce immunotoxicity. Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), as a primary causative agent of porcine circovirus-associated disease, also could induce immunosuppression. However, it is still unknown whether PCV2 infection impacts OTA-induced immunotoxicity. Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2022 Mar 15;14(6). Epub 2022 Mar 15.

Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.

Glioblastoma is a lethal brain cancer that commonly recurs after tumor resection and chemotherapy treatment. Depolarized resting membrane potentials and an acidic intertumoral extracellular pH have been associated with a proliferative state and drug resistance, suggesting that forced hyperpolarization and disruption of proton pumps in the plasma membrane could be a successful strategy for targeting glioblastoma overgrowth. We screened 47 compounds and compound combinations, most of which were ion-modulating, at different concentrations in the NG108-15 rodent neuroblastoma/glioma cell line. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2022 03 14;14(3). Epub 2022 Mar 14.

Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy.

Cytochrome P-450 (CYP) enzymes have a key role in the metabolism of xenobiotics of food origin, and their highly polymorphic nature concurs with the diverse inter-individual variability in the toxicokinetics (TK) and toxicodynamics (TD) of food chemicals. Ochratoxin A is a well-known mycotoxin which contaminates a large variety of food and is associated with food safety concerns. It is a minor substrate of CYP2D6, although the effects of CYP2D6 polymorphisms on its metabolism may be overlooked. Read More

Anal Bioanal Chem 2022 Apr 16;414(9):2953-2969. Epub 2022 Mar 16.

College of Food and Bioengineering, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Food Processing and Safety Education, Engineering Center of Food Material, Henan University of Science and Technology, NO. 263 Kaiyuan Avenue, Luolong District, Luoyang, 471000, Henan, China.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a widely distributed mycotoxin that often contaminates food, grains and animal feed. It poses a serious threat to human health because of its high toxicity and persistence. Therefore, the development of an inexpensive, highly sensitive, accurate and rapid method for OTA detection is imperative. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2022 06 2;431:128609. Epub 2022 Mar 2.

University of Carthage, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, LR01ES14 Laboratory of Environment Biomonitoring, Coastal Ecology and Ecotoxicology Unit, 7021 Zarzouna, Tunisia. Electronic address:

The ecotoxicological effects of beta-blockers (i.e. Diltiazem and Bisoprolol) and their interactions with the microplastic polyvinyl chloride on marine meiofauna were tested in laboratory microcosms. Read More

Chemosphere 2022 Jun 4;297:134130. Epub 2022 Mar 4.

Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address:

The present study focused on the photocatalytic degradation of 5-Flurouracil (FU), carvedilol (Car), para-chlorophenol (PCP) and methimazole (Met) under visible light irradiation by MnWO/AgWO (MWO/AWO) nanohybrid. Here, MWO/AWO nanohybrid was characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS, XPS, ESR, EIS, BET and DRS. The band gap energy of the MWO/AWO nanohybrid was found to be 2. Read More

Mol Neurobiol 2022 May 4;59(5):2932-2945. Epub 2022 Mar 4.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour. In our previous studies, we developed a novel 3D assay for MB cells that was used to screen a panel of plasma membrane calcium channel modulators for their effect on the 3D growth of D341 MB cells. These studies identified T-type (CaV3) channel inhibitors, mibefradil and NNC-55-0396 (NNC) as selective inhibitors of MB cell growth. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2022 01 26;14(2). Epub 2022 Jan 26.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.

Conotoxins are tools used by marine snails to hunt and are a significant repository for marine drug research. Conotoxins highly selectively coordinate different subtypes of various ion channels, and a few have been used in pain management. Although more than 8000 conotoxin genes have been found, the biological activity and function of most have not yet been examined. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2022 01 19;14(2). Epub 2022 Jan 19.

Laboratory of Hygiene of Foods of Animal Origin, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin that is produced after the growth of several and spp. in feeds or foods. OTA has been proved to possess nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic, neurotoxic, genotoxic, carcinogenic and immunotoxic effects in animals and humans. Read More

Clin Sci (Lond) 2022 03;136(5):329-343

Department of Biophysics, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil.

β-Cyfluthrin, a class II Pyrethroid, is an insecticide used worldwide in agriculture, horticulture (field and protected crops), viticulture, and domestic applications. β-Cyfluthrin may impair the function of biological systems; however, little information is available about its potential cardiotoxic effect. Here, we explored the acute toxicity of β-Cyfluthrin in isolated heart preparations and its cellular basis, using isolated cardiomyocytes. Read More

Oxid Med Cell Longev 2022 11;2022:6085515. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Center of Basic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, 20131 Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Doxazosin and carvedilol have been evaluated as an alternative treatment against chronic liver lesions and for their possible role during the regeneration of damage caused by liver fibrosis in a hamster model. However, these drugs have been reported to induce morphological changes in hepatocytes, affecting the recovery of liver parenchyma. The effects of these /𝛽 adrenoblockers on the viability of hepatocytes are unknown. Read More

Toxicon 2022 Apr 18;210:32-38. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

Department of General and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, Students campus, 6000, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Electronic address:

Embryotoxic and teratogenic effects were found in OTA-treated pregnant Swiss albino mice, which were particularly strong at OTA contamination levels of 20 ppm (corresponding to 2.8 mg OTA/kg bw per day), when fed between the day 7 and day 12 of the pregnancy. Slighter embryotoxic and teratogenic effects were found when OTA was given up to day 7 or after day 12 of mice pregnancy. Read More