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The toxicologically most relevant mercury (Hg) species for human exposure is methylmercury (MeHg). Thiomersal is a common preservative used in some vaccine formulations. The aim of this study is to get further mechanistic insight into the yet not fully understood neurotoxic modes of action of organic Hg species. Mercury species investigated include MeHgCl and thiomersal. Additionally HgCl2 was studied, since in the brain mercuric Hg can be formed by dealkylation of the organic species. As a cellular system astrocytes were used. In vivo astrocytes provide the environment necessary for neuronal function. In the present study, cytotoxic effects of the respective mercuricals increased with rising alkylation level and correlated with their cellular bioavailability. Further experiments revealed for all species at subcytotoxic concentrations no induction of DNA strand breaks, whereas all species massively increased H2O2-induced DNA strand breaks. This co- genotoxic effect is likely due to a disturbance of the cellular DNA damage response. Thus, at nanomolar, sub-cytotoxic concentrations, all three mercury species strongly disturbed poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation, a signalling reaction induced by DNA strand breaks. Interestingly, the molecular mechanism behind this inhibition seems to be different for the species. Since chronic PARP-1 inhibition is also discussed to sacrifice neurogenesis and learning abilities, further experiments on neurons and in vivo studies could be helpful to clarify whether the inhibition of poly(ADP-ribosyl) ation contributes to organic Hg induced neurotoxicity.
Arsenic-containing hydrocarbons are one group of fat-soluble organic arsenic compounds (arsenolipids) found in marine fish and other seafood. A risk assessment of arsenolipids is urgently needed, but has not been possible because of the total lack of toxicological data. In this study the cellular toxicity of three arsenic-containing hydrocarbons was investigated in cultured human bladder (UROtsa) and liver (HepG2) cells. Cytotoxicity of the arsenic-containing hydrocarbons was comparable to that of arsenite, which was applied as the toxic reference arsenical. A large cellular accumulation of arsenic, as measured by ICP-MS/MS, was observed after incubation of both cell lines with the arsenolipids. Moreover, the toxic mode of action shown by the three arsenic-containing hydrocarbons seemed to differ from that observed for arsenite. Evidence suggests that the high cytotoxic potential of the lipophilic arsenicals results from a decrease in the cellular energy level. This first in vitro based risk assessment cannot exclude a risk to human health related to the presence of arsenolipids in seafood, and indicates the urgent need for further toxicity studies in experimental animals to fully assess this possible risk.
We study the thermal Markovian diffusion of tracer particles in a 2D medium with spatially varying diffusivity D(r), mimicking recently measured, heterogeneous maps of the apparent diffusion coefficient in biological cells. For this heterogeneous diffusion process (HDP) we analyse the mean squared displacement (MSD) of the tracer particles, the time averaged MSD, the spatial probability density function, and the first passage time dynamics from the cell boundary to the nucleus. Moreover we examine the non-ergodic properties of this process which are important for the correct physical interpretation of time averages of observables obtained from single particle tracking experiments. From extensive computer simulations of the 2D stochastic Langevin equation we present an in-depth study of this HDP. In particular, we find that the MSDs along the radial and azimuthal directions in a circular domain obey anomalous and Brownian scaling, respectively. We demonstrate that the time averaged MSD stays linear as a function of the lag time and the system thus reveals a weak ergodicity breaking. Our results will enable one to rationalise the diffusive motion of larger tracer particles such as viruses or submicron beads in biological cells.
On the role of fluoro-substituted nucleosides in DNA radiosensitization for tumor radiation therapy
(2014)
Gemcitabine (2′,2′-difluorocytidine) is a well-known radiosensitizer routinely applied in concomitant chemoradiotherapy. During irradiation of biological media with high-energy radiation secondary low-energy (<10 eV) electrons are produced that can directly induce chemical bond breakage in DNA by dissociative electron attachment (DEA). Here, we investigate and compare DEA to the three molecules 2′-deoxycytidine, 2′-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine, and gemcitabine. Fluorination at specific molecular sites, i.e., nucleobase or sugar moiety, is found to control electron attachment and subsequent dissociation pathways. The presence of two fluorine atoms at the sugar ring results in more efficient electron attachment to the sugar moiety and subsequent bond cleavage. For the formation of the dehydrogenated nucleobase anion, we obtain an enhancement factor of 2.8 upon fluorination of the sugar, whereas the enhancement factor is 5.5 when the nucleobase is fluorinated. The observed fragmentation reactions suggest enhanced DNA strand breakage induced by secondary electrons when gemcitabine is incorporated into DNA.
Postcolonial piracy
(2014)
Across the global South, new media technologies have brought about new forms of cultural production, distribution and reception. The spread of cassette recorders in the 1970s; the introduction of analogue and digital video formats in the 80s and 90s; the pervasive availability of recycled computer hardware; the global dissemination of the internet and mobile phones in the new millennium: all these have revolutionised the access of previously marginalised populations to the cultural flows of global modernity.
Yet this access also engenders a pirate occupation of the modern: it ducks and deranges the globalised designs of property, capitalism and personhood set by the North. Positioning itself against Eurocentric critiques by corporate lobbies, libertarian readings or classical Marxist interventions, this volume offers a profound postcolonial revaluation of the social, epistemic and aesthetic workings of piracy. It projects how postcolonial piracy persistently negotiates different trajectories of property and self at the crossroads of the global and the local.