Kang et al., 2019
Kang, D. W., Adams, J. B., Coleman, D. M., Pollard, E. L., Maldonado, J., McDonough-Means, S., Caporaso, J. G., & Krajmalnik-Brown, R.; “Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota;” Scientific Reports, 2019, 9(1), 5821; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42183-0.
ABSTRACT:
Many studies have reported abnormal gut microbiota in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), suggesting a link between gut microbiome and autism-like behaviors. Modifying the gut microbiome is a potential route to improve gastrointestinal (GI) and behavioral symptoms in children with ASD, and fecal microbiota transplant could transform the dysbiotic gut microbiome toward a healthy one by delivering a large number of commensal microbes from a healthy donor. We previously performed an open-label trial of Microbiota Transfer Therapy (MTT) that combined antibiotics, a bowel cleanse, a stomach-acid suppressant, and fecal microbiota transplant, and observed significant improvements in GI symptoms, autism-related symptoms, and gut microbiota. Here, we report on a follow-up with the same 18 participants two years after treatment was completed. Notably, most improvements in GI symptoms were maintained, and autism-related symptoms improved even more after the end of treatment. Important changes in gut microbiota at the end of treatment remained at follow-up, including significant increases in bacterial diversity and relative abundances of Bifidobacteria and Prevotella. Our observations demonstrate the long-term safety and efficacy of MTT as a potential therapy to treat children with ASD who have GI problems, and warrant a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the future. FULL TEXT
Shah and Kingdom, 2011
Shah, Prakesh, & Kingdom, John; “Long-term neurocognitive outcomes of SGA/IUGR infants;” Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine, 2011, 21(5), 142-146; DOI: 10.1016/j.ogrm.2011.02.004.
ABSTRACT:
With advances in the management of preterm neonates, the chances of survival have increased even among those who are intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) or who are born small for gestational age (SGA). However, infants who are IUGR/SGA are considered at higher risk of physical and neurodevelopmental abnormalities, although the reported impacts of IUGR and SGA status at birth on neurodevelopmental outcomes in long-term outcomes studies have varied. In particular, some reports have indicated gradual improvement in neurodevelopmental functions over time in these infants. We have therefore reviewed all the available reports describing neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm and term SGA infants beyond 5 years of age. Preterm SGA infants are at increased risk of impairment in neuromotor, cognitive, behavioural and scholastic attainments compared with preterm non-SGA infants. On the other hand, term SGA infants had problems in scholastic/vocational attainments compared with term non SGA infants, while adverse neuromotor, cognitive and behavioural outcomes were not consistently observed at higher rates. Limitations regarding the validity of studies of long-term outcomes of SGA infants are discussed and a potential approach is suggested. FULL TEXT
Kougias et al., 2020
Kougias, D. G., Miller, E., McEwen, A., Reamer, H., Kovochich, M., & Pierce, J.; “Risk Assessment of Glyphosate Exposures from Pilot Study with Simulated Heavy Residential Consumer Application of Roundup((R)) using a Margin of Safety (MOS) Approach;” Risk Analysis, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/risa.13646.
ABSTRACT:
Due to the widespread application of glyphosate, a nonselective herbicide, to a variety of resistant food crops, the general population is exposed to glyphosate through dietary intake. Despite this, dietary exposures to glyphosate are considered low in comparison to application-related exposures. Although previous studies have evaluated exposure to horticultural and agricultural workers, to date only one study, which we recently conducted, has characterized exposure to glyphosate in consumers following heavy residential application of a glyphosate-containing herbicide in a residential yard and garden setting. In this previous study, we demonstrated that urinary glyphosate concentrations in these applicators were similar to or in some circumstances greater than those in occupational applicators, likely due to the nature of the simulation study, which ensured a heavy application protocol. However, it is unknown whether these urinary glyphosate concentrations in consumer applicators correspond to internal doses that may be of concern. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive risk assessment of glyphosate exposure in consumer applicators using a margin of safety approach. Here, we incorporated data collected from multiple spot urine samples across time from our previous study that assessed consumer exposure to glyphosate from Roundup((R)) application. Estimated internal doses, even with the use of conservative assumptions across unique approaches, were below internal doses estimated from established health-based guidance values. Overall, this study demonstrates that glyphosate exposure from even heavy consumer application of a commercially available glyphosate-containing herbicide does not appear to be a health concern. FULL TEXT
Yusa et al., 2015
Yusa, V., Millet, M., Coscolla, C., & Roca, M.; “Analytical methods for human biomonitoring of pesticides. A review;” Analytica Chimica Acta, 2015, 891, 15-31; DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2015.05.032.
ABSTRACT:
Biomonitoring of both currently-used and banned-persistent pesticides is a very useful tool for assessing human exposure to these chemicals. In this review, we present current approaches and recent advances in the analytical methods for determining the biomarkers of exposure to pesticides in the most commonly used specimens, such as blood, urine, and breast milk, and in emerging non-invasive matrices such as hair and meconium. We critically discuss the main applications for sample treatment, and the instrumental techniques currently used to determine the most relevant pesticide biomarkers. We finally look at the future trends in this field. FULL TEXT
Zhang et al., 2018
Zhang, M., Ma, W., Zhang, J., He, Y., & Wang, J.; “Analysis of gut microbiota profiles and microbe-disease associations in children with autism spectrum disorders in China;” Scientific Reports, 2018, 8(1), 13981; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32219-2.
ABSTRACT:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Recent studies reported that children with ASD have altered gut microbiota profiles compared with typical development (TD) children. However, few studies on gut bacteria of children with ASD have been conducted in China. Here, in order to elucidate changes of fecal microbiota in children with ASD, 16S rRNA sequencing was conducted and the 16S rRNA (V3-V4) gene tags were amplified. We investigated differences in fecal microbiota between 35 children with ASD and 6 TD children. At the phylum level, the fecal microbiota of ASD group indicated a significant increase of the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio. At the genus level, we found that the relative abundance of Sutterella, Odoribacter and Butyricimonas was much more abundant in the ASD group whereas the abundance of Veillonella and Streptococcus was decreased significantly compared to the control group. Functional analysis demonstrated that butyrate and lactate producers were less abundant in the ASD group. In addition, we downloaded the association data set of microbe-disease from human microbe-disease association database and constructed a human disease network including ASD using our gut microbiome results. In this microbe-disease network based on microbe similarity of diseases, we found that ASD is positively correlated with periodontal, negatively related to type 1 diabetes. Therefore, these results suggest that microbe-based disease analysis is able to predict novel connection between ASD and other diseases and may play a role in revealing the pathogenesis of ASD. FULL TEXT
Zhang et al., 2020
Zhang, M., Chu, Y., Meng, Q., Ding, R., Shi, X., Wang, Z., He, Y., Zhang, J., Liu, J., Zhang, J., Yu, J., Kang, Y., & Wang, J.; “A quasi-paired cohort strategy reveals the impaired detoxifying function of microbes in the gut of autistic children;” Science Advances, 2020, 6(43); DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3760.
ABSTRACT:
Growing evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is strongly associated with dysbiosis in the gut microbiome, with the exact mechanisms still unclear. We have proposed a novel analytic strategy-quasi-paired cohort-and applied it to a metagenomic study of the ASD microbiome. By comparing paired samples of ASD and neurotypical subjects, we have identified significant deficiencies in ASD children in detoxifying enzymes and pathways, which show a strong correlation with biomarkers of mitochondrial dysfunction. Diagnostic models based on these detoxifying enzymes accurately distinguished ASD individuals from controls, and the dysfunction score inferred from the model increased with the clinical rating scores of ASD. In summary, our results suggest a previously undiscovered potential role of impaired intestinal microbial detoxification in toxin accumulation and mitochondrial dysfunction, a core component of ASD pathogenesis. These findings pave the way for designing future therapeutic strategies to restore microbial detoxification capabilities for patients with ASD. FULL TEXT
Zhao et al., 2016
Zhao, Y., Zhang, Y., Wang, G., Han, R., & Xie, X.; “Effects of chlorpyrifos on the gut microbiome and urine metabolome in mouse (Mus musculus);” Chemosphere, 2016, 153, 287-293; DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.03.055.
ABSTRACT:
In this study, the toxic effects of chlorpyrifos (CPF) on the gut microbiome and related urine metabolome in mouse (Mus musculus) were investigated. Mice were exposed to a daily dose of 1 mg kg(-1) bodyweight of CPF for 30 d. As a result, CPF significantly altered the gut microbiota composition in terms of the relative abundance of key microbes. Meanwhile, CPF exposure induced the alterations of urine metabolites related to the metabolism of amino acids, energy, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), phenyl derivatives and bile acids. High correlations were observed between perturbed gut microbiome and altered metabolic profiles. These perturbations finally resulted in intestinal inflammation and abnormal intestinal permeability, which were also confirm by the histologic changes in colon and remarkable increase of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and diamine oxidase (DAO) in the serum of CPF-treated mice. Our findings will provide a new perspective to reveal the mechanism of CPF toxicity. FULL TEXT
Vencill et al., 2017
Vencill, William K., Nichols, Robert L., Webster, Theodore M., Soteres, John K., Mallory-Smith, Carol, Burgos, Nilda R., Johnson, William G., & McClelland, Marilyn R.; “Herbicide Resistance: Toward an Understanding of Resistance Development and the Impact of Herbicide-Resistant Crops;” Weed Science, 2017, 60(SP1), 2-30; DOI: 10.1614/ws-d-11-00206.1.
ABSTRACT:
Development of herbicide-resistant crops has resulted in significant changes to agronomic practices, one of which is the adoption of effective, simple, low-risk, crop-production systems with less dependency on tillage and lower energy requirements. Overall, the changes have had a positive environmental effect by reducing soil erosion, the fuel use for tillage, and the number of herbicides with groundwater advisories as well as a slight reduction in the overall environmental impact quotient of herbicide use. However, herbicides exert a high selection pressure on weed populations, and density and diversity of weed communities change over time in response to herbicides and other control practices imposed on them. Repeated and intensive use of herbicides with the same mechanisms of action (MOA; the mechanism in the plant that the herbicide detrimentally affects so that the plant succumbs to the herbicide; e.g., inhibition of an enzyme that is vital to plant growth or the inability of a plant to metabolize the herbicide before it has done damage) can rapidly select for shifts to tolerant, difficult-to-control weeds and the evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds, especially in the absence of the concurrent use of herbicides with different mechanisms of action or the use of mechanical or cultural practices or both. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the basic tenets of weed management, to define herbicide resistance and tolerance and how they affect crop production and are affected by management practices, and to present the environmental impacts of herbicide-resistant crops. This paper will summarize aspects of herbicide resistance in five different sections: (1) a description of basic weed science management practices and concepts, (2) definitions of resistance and tolerance in weed science, (3) environmental impacts of herbicide-resistant crops, (4) strategies for management of weed species shifts and herbicide-resistant weeds and adoption by the agricultural community, and (5) gene-flow potential from herbicide-resistant crops. FULL TEXT
van der Plaat et al., 2018
van der Plaat, Diana A., de Jong, Kim, de Vries, Maaike, van Diemen, Cleo C., Nedeljković, Ivana, Amin, Najaf, Kromhout, Hans, Vermeulen, Roel, Postma, Dirkje S., van Duijn, Cornelia M., Boezen, H. Marike, & Vonk, Judith M.; “Occupational exposure to pesticides is associated with differential DNA methylation;” Occupational and environmental medicine, 2018, 75(6), 427; DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2017-104787.
ABSTRACT:
OBJECTIVES: Occupational pesticide exposure is associated with a wide range of diseases, including lung diseases, but it is largely unknown how pesticides influence airway disease pathogenesis. a potential mechanism might be through epigenetic mechanisms, like Dna methylation. therefore, we assessed associations between occupational exposure to pesticides and genome-wide Dna methylation sites.
METHODS: 1561 subjects of lifelines were included with either no (n=1392), low (n=108) or high (n=61) exposure to any type of pesticides (estimated based on current or last held job). Blood Dna methylation levels were measured using illumina 450K arrays. associations between pesticide exposure and 420 938 methylation sites (cpgs) were assessed using robust linear regression adjusted for appropriate confounders. in addition, we performed genome-wide stratified and interaction analyses by gender, smoking and airway obstruction status, and assessed associations between gene expression and methylation for genome-wide significant cpgs (n=2802).
RESULTS: In total for all analyses, high pesticide exposure was genome-wide significantly (false discovery rate P<0.05) associated with differential Dna methylation of 31 cpgs annotated to 29 genes. twenty of these cpgs were found in subjects with airway obstruction. Several of the identified genes, for example, RYR1, ALLC, PTPRN2, LRRC3B, PAX2 and VTRNA2-1, are genes previously linked to either pesticide exposure or lungrelated diseases. Seven out of 31 cpgs were associated with gene expression levels.
CONCLUSIONS: We show for the first time that occupational exposure to pesticides is genome-wide associated with differential Dna methylation. Further research should reveal whether this differential methylation plays a role in the airway disease pathogenesis induced by pesticides.
Sanchez et al., 2018
Sanchez, M. C., Alvarez Sedo, C., Chaufan, G. R., Romanato, M., Da Cuna, R., Lo Nostro, F., Calvo, J. C., & Fontana, V.; “In vitro effects of endosulfan-based insecticides on mammalian sperm;” Toxicology Research, 2018, 7(1), 117-126; DOI: 10.1039/c7tx00251c.
ABSTRACT:
Endosulfan is an organochloride insecticide extensively used in several countries to protect crops from pests. As several studies indicate that endosulfan can affect human and animal development, the aim of this study was to analyse whether sperm parameters and the process of chromatin decondensation could be altered by endosulfan in mice sperm. Spermatozoa from cauda epididymis were obtained from mature male mice and incubated in the presence of two commercial formulations (CFs) of endosulfan (Master(R) and Zebra Ciagro(R)) or the active ingredient (AI) alone. A significant decrease in the percentage motility and viability of spermatozoa with respect to controls was found. In vitro decondensation was performed in the presence of glutathione and heparin. Spermatozoa incubated with the AI, endosulfan Master(R) and endosulfan Zebra Ciagro(R) showed an increase in chromatin decondensation. In addition, the TUNEL assay showed that DNA fragmentation was significantly higher when sperm were incubated with either one of the CFs when compared to the AI or controls. The ultrastructure analysis of sperm cells showed evident changes in the structure of the plasma and acrosome membranes of sperm incubated with endosulfan AI or the CFs. These results suggest that endosulfan can affect sperm integrity and in vitro chromatin decondensation as well as DNA fragmentation. FULL TEXT