{"title":"Air pollution and DOHaD: The health of the next generation with emphasis on the Brazilian population","authors":"Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Kadija Santée, Lais Fajerstzjan, Mariana Matera Veras","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>It is established in the scientific literature that environmental air pollution has acute and chronic harmful consequences on human health. In recent decades, studies showed that the harmful effects of bad air quality can impair future generations. Early exposure to bad air quality (in uterus, infant, and early childhood) can increase the susceptibility to noncommunicable diseases<span> (NCDs) across the lifespan. Brazil and other countries do not meet health safety standards recommended by the World Health Organization, exposing large population to air pollution and its risks. Controlling air quality is crucial in order to face the increase in NCDs and protect the health of the population. Reducing air pollution should be considered a public health policy to prevent and manage NCDs, alongside with well-established recommendations for changes in lifestyle (eating healthy food, exercising, stopping tobacco smoking, etc.).</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100416"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48455137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Protecting future generations by regulatory approaches","authors":"Linda G. Roberts , Alan M. Hoberman","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100422","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100422","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>The use of regulations to protect future generations is a form of risk management that continues to evolve. This article looks at three aspects of regulatory toxicology<span> utilized in this pursuit: prenatal testing assessments, occupational exposure limits, and mandatory food fortification. Approaches to the identification of prenatal toxicants are founded in nonclinical, </span></span><em>in vivo</em><span> testing paradigms that offer the advantages of standardized study designs. New approach methods continue to be evaluated as replacements for animal studies. Greater inclusion of pregnant women in research should ultimately benefit therapeutic decisions for both mothers and infants. Development of occupational exposure limits that incorporate the physiology of pregnant workers across more varied occupations and for more chemical agents should improve workplace safety guidance. Utilizing regulatory approaches to allay nutritional deficiencies<span> could protect future generations through birth defects prevention.</span></span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"35 ","pages":"Article 100422"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48631445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Engineered nanomaterials (ENM) and the microbiome: implications for human health","authors":"F. Zickgraf, A. Murali, R. Landsiedel","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100429","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46399779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ehab Mustafa, Maria João Valente, Anne Marie Vinggaard
{"title":"Complex chemical mixtures: Approaches for assessing adverse human health effects","authors":"Ehab Mustafa, Maria João Valente, Anne Marie Vinggaard","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100404","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100404","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this opinion, we provide a brief overview of three main approaches for assessing effects of chemical mixtures on human health, such as experimental or theoretical component-based or whole mixture studies. We compare the purposes, pros, and cons of the approaches and highlight the recent advances within the field that focus on “real-life” exposures for risk-assessing chemical mixtures. Whole mixture studies combined with effect-directed analysis have been used mostly within ecotoxicology and less so within human toxicology, opening the potential for the determination of mixture drivers in human tissues. Concerning the implementation of mixture risk assessment in legislation, we discuss whether a data-driven factor, for example<em>,</em> a mixture driver factor for each chemical or chemical class could be useful when deriving the toxicologically acceptable limit.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100404"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48406568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Hazard index at thirty-seven: New science new insights","authors":"Paul S. Price","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100388","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100388","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Hazard Index (HI) was developed as a quantitative tool for characterizing noncancer risks from combined exposures. HI, and related approaches, dominate assessments of such risks. Despite this dominance, HI has limitations: the widespread lack of data required to use the tool; the inability to deal with synergy and potentiation; and the inability to quantitatively predict the probability of specific adverse effects. This article provides a review of recent advancements in toxicology and exposure science and their implications for HI. The new findings illuminate aspects of the HI and reduce the limitations of using the tool.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100388"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47830452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elena Menegola , Maria Battistoni , Francesca Metruccio , Francesca Di Renzo
{"title":"Advantages and disadvantages of the use of Xenopus laevis embryos and zebra fish as alternative methods to assess teratogens","authors":"Elena Menegola , Maria Battistoni , Francesca Metruccio , Francesca Di Renzo","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100387","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100387","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Traditional teratological protocols in mammals are mandatory for pharmaceutical and chemical product registration, but require hundreds of animals and are complex and money/time-consuming. Among alternative methods, low vertebrate (the teleost zebrafish and the amphibian <span><em>Xenopus</em></span>) whole embryo developmental toxicological tests appear evolutionary closer to humans than invertebrates and produce more useful data for human health extrapolation. At least during early stages, in fact, all vertebrate embryos share, from both morphological and molecular point of view, developmental pathways. By consequence similar toxicological responses of embryos to toxicant are expected. Advantages and disadvantages of these two alternative whole organism tests are briefly reviewed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100387"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42148869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adverse outcome pathway network approach to identify endocrine disruptor-induced reproductive toxicity","authors":"Kai Li , Kanglong Cui , Qi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100391","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100391","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can cause reproductive toxicity in both humans and animals. To study this reproductive toxicity, extensive efforts have been made to determine the mode of action (MoA) of EDCs of interest, which typically act in complex chemical settings. Recently, notable progress has been made in computational tools in this field, owing to their high reliability, efficiency, and accessibility. The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) network is one of the most representative tools for investigating all possible pathways of reproductive toxicity caused by EDCs in a complex environment. In this review, we aimed to provide a guide for the implementation of an AOP network for evaluating EDC-induced reproductive toxicity. Specifically, we introduce the principles for establishing an AOP network, present widely used software and toolboxes for constructing an AOP network, and discuss a few successful cases of reproductive toxicity induced by EDCs using the AOP network. Future development of a quantitative AOP network is proposed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100391"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45048451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kati Hellsten, Bohumila Bichlmaier Suchanová, Virve Sihvola, Ulla Simanainen, Outi Leppäranta, Konstantinos Chronis, Dalia Simon, Ingo Bichlmaier
{"title":"The importance of study design in investigating intrinsic developmental toxic properties of substances in new studies under the REACH and CLP Regulations in the European Union","authors":"Kati Hellsten, Bohumila Bichlmaier Suchanová, Virve Sihvola, Ulla Simanainen, Outi Leppäranta, Konstantinos Chronis, Dalia Simon, Ingo Bichlmaier","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100402","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100402","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A high level of protection of human health including pre- and postnatal development is a main objective of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP). Identifying developmental toxicants is crucial for protecting human embryos, foetuses and children from exposure to chemicals that adversely affect their normal development. This objective requires the intrinsic developmental toxic properties of substances to be investigated in adequately designed studies that are fit for this purpose. In this article, we address dose levels, administration route and species as an inadequate selection of these critical study parameters that reduces the usefulness of new studies and may hamper the identification of substances as developmental toxicants.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100402"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44779882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The status of developmental and reproductive toxicology: The conundrum of acquiring pragmatic training","authors":"Stephen B. Harris , John M. DeSesso","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100393","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100393","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Outsourcing of preclinical developmental and reproductive toxicology testing (DART) is accelerating, but the availability of experienced, well-qualified individuals responsible for DART is diminishing. Current DART training at all levels is anemic. We identify four requisite training areas including hands-on technical skills, scientific knowledge, management, and oral/written communications. We suggest that comprehensive training could be accomplished through DART-targeted certificate programs or post-baccalaureate curricula designed and funded by the combined efforts of industry consortia, </span>contract research organizations, government, and academia. Graduates of such training would be better able to serve as DART technicians, study directors, study monitors or regulatory scientists.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100393"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47631597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of boron exposure on human reproduction and development","authors":"Yalçın Duydu , Nurşen Başaran","doi":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100403","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cotox.2023.100403","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Boric acid<span> and sodium borates are classified as toxic to reproduction under category 1B, with the hazard statement of H360FD in the EU-CLP regulation. This classification has triggered occupational epidemiology studies on boron (B) in countries with high boron reserves, especially in China and Türkiye. The highest mean total daily B exposure (DBE) levels in mining areas or processing plants of China and Türkiye were 41.2 and 47.17 mg/day respectively. Despite these reported high exposure levels in occupational settings, B-mediated reproductive effects have not been observed. The highest mean blood-boron concentrations (BBC) reported for the B exposed workers in these countries, are still much lower than the BBC corresponding to the NOAEL for reproductive effects in rats. The current epidemiological studies have proven that it will not be possible to reach the critical BBC in humans for the reproductive and </span></span>developmental effects, especially in daily life.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37736,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Toxicology","volume":"34 ","pages":"Article 100403"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47436211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}