Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in house dust in Central Poland.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in numerous products, from which they are emitted to the environment, including house dust. House dust is a source of human exposure to these compounds by ingestion. The aim of this article was to determine the levels of selected PBDEs in the house dust and indicate their potential sources of origin. PBDE congeners: BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153 and BDE-209, were analyzed in 129 samples. The geometric mean levels (and 95% CIs) of the aforementioned congeners amounted to 3.8 (3.1-4.7) ng/g, 4.5 (3.5-5.6) ng/g, 2.2 (2.1-2.4) ng/g and 345 (269-442) ng/g respectively. BDE-209 was the dominant congener in the majority of tested samples. We found a statistically significant correlation between the concentrations of BDE-47 and the computer operating time per day (rs - 0.18) and the living area (rs - 0.20). Statistically significant higher levels of BDE-99 were found in homes where the floor was not replaced during the last 2 years.

Association of adiponectin and leptin-to-adiponectin ratio with the function of platelets in morbidly obese patients.

Adipokines regulate glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, lipids metabolism, reproduction, as well as endothelial and platelets function. The study compares the plasma and adipose tissue concentrations of total adiponectin, leptin, leptin receptor and leptin-to-adiponectin ratio (LAR) in morbidly obese patients. Additionally it evaluates selected adipokines (leptin, adiponectin), endothelial markers and LAR depending on the gender in morbidly obese and non-obese subjects. The study involved 51 patients (31 women aged 21 - 60 (mean age of 39) and 20 men aged 24 to 60 (mean age of 41)). The eligibility criterion included the BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2. The non-obese group consisted of 30 healthy volunteers with the BMI < 24.9 kg/m2; nineteen women, aged 24 - 53 (mean age of 41), and 11 men aged 21 - 52 (mean age of 38). In the plasma and adipose tissue, the concentrations of total adiponectin, leptin, leptin receptor and plasma soluble forms of E-selectin, P-selectin, thrombomodulin were measured applying immunoassay techniques. There were noted significantly higher plasma leptin and sE-selectin concentrations, leptin-to-adiponectin ratio, additionally lower concentrations of plasma leptin receptor and sP-selectin in obese subjects regardless of the gender. Significantly higher concentrations of total adiponectin, leptin, leptin receptor expressed per 1 mg of total protein in adipose tissue, as compared to plasma in morbidly obese patients, were observed. Significant positive correlations between the BMI and the concentration of leptin and between total adiponectin and sP-selectin were reported in the subject group. Similarly there were noted significant negative correlations between leptin receptor and the BMI and between leptin-to-adiponectin ratio and sP-selectin in obese patients. The study has shown that adiponectin has a positive impact on platelets through a possible reduction in sP-selectin, and thus on platelets activation. On the other hand an elevated sE-selectin reveals perspective about the endothelium stimulation and a higher risk of endothelial damage in morbidly obese patients. Also in morbidly obese the higher leptin level and leptin-to-adiponectin ratio and simultaneously lower concentration of leptin receptor are associated with leptin resistance, additionally in possible future risk of insulin resistance and diabetes type 2.

Interactions between polymorphisms in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signalling pathway and exposure to persistent organochlorine pollutants affect human semen quality.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may affect male reproductive function. Many dioxin-like POPs exert their effects by activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signalling pathway. We analysed whether gene-environment interactions between polymorphisms in AHR (R554K) and AHR repressor (AHRR P185A) and serum levels of markers of POP exposure 1,1-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethene (p,p'-DDE) and 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) are associated with 21 parameters of male reproductive function in 581 proven-fertile European and Greenlandic men. In Greenlandic men, AHR variants significantly modified the association between serum levels of both p,p'-DDE and CB-153 and inhibin B levels, sperm chromatin integrity, and seminal zinc levels. In the total cohort, interactions between AHRR variants and serum levels of CB-153 were associated with sperm chromatin integrity and the expression of the pro-apoptotic marker protein Fas. The data indicate that susceptibility to adverse effects of POP exposure on male reproductive function is dependent on polymorphisms in genes involved in AHR signalling.

Body mass index in young school-age children in relation to organochlorine compounds in early life: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between maternal pregnancy and estimated postnatal serum concentrations of the organochlorines 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE) and body mass index (BMI) z-scores in 5- to 9-year-old children. METHODS: Maternal sera from the INUENDO birth cohort (2002-2004) comprising mother-child pairs (N=1109) from Greenland, Warsaw (Poland), and Kharkiv (Ukraine) were analysed for CB-153 and p,p'-DDE, using gas chromatography-mass-spectrometry, and were grouped into tertiles for statistical analyses. A toxicokinetic model was used to estimate the first 12 months cumulative exposure to the compounds. Associations between these compounds and child age- and sex-specific BMI z-scores were calculated at follow-up (2010-2012), using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: No clear associations between pregnancy CB-153 and p,p'-DDE and child BMI were observed (the pooled differences in BMI z-score (95% confidence interval) comparing 3rd tertile to 1st tertile were -0.07 (-0.32 to 0.18) and -0.10 (-0.30 to 0.10) kg m(-2), respectively). For postnatal CB-153 and p,p'-DDE and BMI, the overall differences in BMI z-score comparing 3rd tertile to 1st tertile were 0.12 (-0.15 to 0.39) and -0.03 (-0.20 to 0.27) kg m(-2), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This follow-up study of Greenlandic, Polish and Ukrainian populations showed no clear association between pregnancy and postnatal exposure to p,p'-DDE and CB-153 and BMI at the age of 5-9 years.

Characterising the individual health risk in infants exposed to organochlorine pesticides via breast milk by applying appropriate margins of safety derived from estimated daily intakes.

Milk secretion being an important way of elimination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) poses a concern due to potential risk for breastfed infants. This study aims to provide a tool for assessing such risks to infants exposed to OCPs (through accumulation in the mother's body), using calculated individual margins of safety (MoS). Selected OCPs included; p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, ß-HCH, γ-HCH and HCB which were analysed in 28 samples of maternal milk. The highest intakes were recorded for p,p'-DDE (at 2.90 µg kg(-1)bw d(-1)) whilst the lowest was for γ-HCH, (at 0.019 µg kg(-1)bwd(-1)). For the risk characterisation purposes MoSs were calculated for the compounds for which toxicological reference values (e.g. ADI, TDI) were adopted. The MoS for average ∑DDT concentrations was found to be relatively low (2.82) somewhat similar to that for HCB at 7.08, and for γ-HCH, the MoS was substantially higher at 263.1. This, however does not take into account the extremely high individual concentrations. Thus, it was decided to calculate estimated daily intake (EDI) values based on OCP levels in individual milk samples. MoS levels of <1 (meaning unacceptable risk) were noted both for HCB in one sample as well as for ∑DDT in 3 samples indicating likely threats to infant's health. The lowest MoS noted for γ-HCH equalled to 60.6, indicating that this compound was not a threat to the health of any of the breastfed infants from the study group.

Phototherapy with low-level laser influences the proliferation of endothelial cells and vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor-beta secretion.

The healing process and the angiogenesis associated with it, is a very important but currently poorly understood area. Low level laser therapy (LLLT) has been reported to modulate the process of tissue repair by stimulation of cellular reaction such as migration, proliferation, apoptosis and cellular differentiation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of laser radiation in the range of visible and infrared light on the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells in vitro and the secretion of angiogenic factors: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß. Vascular human endothelial cells (Ecs) were exposed to radiation with laser beam of the wavelengths: 635 nm (1.875 mW/cm²) and 830 nm (3.75 mW/cm²). Depending on the radiation energy density, the experiment was conducted in four groups : I) the control group (no radiation, 0 J/cm²); II) 635 nm - the energy density was 2 J/cm²; III) 635 nm - 4 J/cm²; IV635 nm - 8 J/cm², II) 830 nm - the energy density was 2 J/cm²; III) 830 nm - 4 J/cm²; IV) 830 nm - 8 J/cm². The proliferation and concentration of VEGF-A and TGF-ß were examined. LLLT with wavelength 635 nm increases endothelial cell proliferation. Significant increase in endothelial cell proliferation and corresponding decrease in VEGF concentration may suggest the role for VEGF in this process. The wavelength of 830 nm was associated with a decrease in TGF-ß secretion.

[High performance liquid chromatography: application in pesticide residue analysis]. / Wysokosprawna chromatografia cieczowa--jej zastosowanie w analizie pozostalosci pestycydów.

Chromatographic techniques allow separation and quantitation of trace levels of organic compounds in different matrices. Chromatography is widely used in many scientific areas, including food safety. Currently, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and related techniques have become the dominant analytical separation tools in such areas as pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries and environmental monitoring. Contrary to gas chromatography (GC), HPLC allows to determine low-volatile and thermolabile compounds. A variety of packings and bonded phases as well as eluents and their combinations make this technique very useful in analysis of food contaminants, including pesticide residues. Plant protection products, called commonly pesticides, contain biologically active substances having wide mode of action, used in crop protection and in many other areas. Unfortunately, besides advantages related to their use, it should be taken into account that they are also toxic for humans and environment. As general population is exposed to pesticides mainly through the food, it is necessary to monitor concentrations of these compounds using sensitive techniques for ppm or even ppb levels. This article discusses the advantages of HPLC technique for the residues analysis of some active substances of plant protection products.

Relationship between two consecutive lactations and fat level in persistent organochlorine compound concentrations in human breast milk.

An attempt was made to understand how consecutive deliveries and the following lactations have an impact on the organochlorine compound levels detected in human milk. The other goal of the study was to check for a possible dependence between fat content and the levels of the studied compounds in milk samples from the same lactations. 199 milk samples were examined for the presence of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, alpha-, beta-, gamma-HCH and sigmaPCBs. Moreover, in 87 milk samples the fat content was additionally determined. This study has indicated that, for the mother with a shorter interval between lactations, mean concentrations of the examined compounds were higher in the milk of the first lactation than that of the second. For the other donor whose second lactation began after 2 years, the mean levels of HCB, beta-HCH, p,p'-DDD, and PCBs in her milk were higher during the first lactation. At the same time, the concentrations of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE after the second delivery were slightly higher. The correlation coefficients between the two data sets (fat content in milk, concentrations of the compounds studied in milk) showed no interrelationship between them.

[Organochlorine pesticide residues in tea]. / Pozostalosci pestycydów chloroorganicznych w herbacie.

Organochlorine pesticides still exist as environmental pollutants in many countries. In this paper, the results of monitoring of organochlorine pesticides in teas taken from the Polish market in 1998 year are presented. The monitoring included analysis of organochlorine insecticides and their metabolites (sigma DDT, sigma HCH, HCB, Heptachlor, Epoxide heptachlor, and Aldrin) in samples of black and green tea, and fruit tea. The mean concentration of the organochlorine compounds in the black tea ranged from 0.0002 to 0.003 mg/kg of product, and in the green and fruit teas from 0.0001 to 0.003 mg/kg of product depending on the pesticide. In no case the violation of the Maximum Residues Limits was observed. The results obtained in this monitoring did not differ from the results reported by the other authors.

[Selected aspects of xenoestrogens'mode of action taken from a group of persistent organochlorine compounds ]. / Wybrane aspekty dzialania ksenoestrogenów z grupy persystentnych zwiazków chloroorganicznych.

The presence of many chemical pollutants in the environment and their potential impact to human health creates rather justified anxiety. Many of these pollutants feature such unwelcome characteristics as: persistence in different environmental media, ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in individual food chains, as well as ability to undergo long-range atmospheric transport. Compounds meeting these criteria include above all a large group of persistent organochlorine compounds. Recently, debate has increased concerning endocrine disrupting activity of these compounds and especially their ability to produce biologic responses comparable to those of endogenous estrogens (e.g., 17 beta-estradiol). It has been hypothesized that these compounds, among others, may be associated with increased incidence of breast cancer and other estrogen-related cancers in women due to increased proliferation of breast epithelial cells. The organochlorine xenoestrogens may produce this effect following binding to a hormone receptor (with or without metabolic activation) or by affecting the 17 beta-estradiol pathways leading to increased formation of more potent estrogenic metabolites. Numerous studies performed since early 1990s have examined the relationship between organochlorines levels in serum or adipose tissue and breast cancer, but the results are not consistent. This may be caused by various criteria of selecting the case and control groups, different compounds analyzed or different statistical approaches. None of these studies included endocrine disruptors' exposure in early and critical stages of development--from conception up to puberty age--the results of which would manifest in far future. Nevertheless the results of measurements, especially in adipose tissue are more reliable for this purpose because they reflect the whole life exposure and may be recognized as one of many environmental risk factors of cancer development.

[Levels of organochlorine insecticides in citrus fruits in 1996-1997]. / Poziomy insektycydów chloroorganicznych w skórkach i miazszu owoców cytrusowych w polsce w latach 1996-1997.

The monitoring of organochlorine insecticides (HCB, HCH, and DDT) in citrus fruits taken from the market was carried out in 9 regions in Poland in the years 1996-1997. The concentrations of the insecticides were measured in the edible part and in the peel separately. The total number of 331 samples of oranges, lemons, grapefruits and mandarins were subjected residue analysis. The mean concentrations of the organochlorine compounds in the edible parts amounted 0.0002 mg/kg for HCB, and ranged from 0.0081 to 0.0247 mg/kg for sigma HCH and from 0.0041 to 0.022 for DDT depending on the product. The highest contrentrations together with the highest violation rate (9.5%) of the Polish Maximum Residue Limit was found in case of DDT. The mean concentrations of the insecticides in the citrus peels were not markedly higher than those in the edible parts. The results obtained in this monitoring did not differ from the results reported by the other authors.

Effect of changes in excretion of persistent organochlorine compounds with human breast milk on related exposure of breast-fed infants.

This study was an attempt to identify if there are any trends in excretion of 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers alpha-, beta-, and gamma-, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), [1,1,1-trichloro-2, 2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane] (p,p'-DDT), [1,1-dichloro-2, 2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane] (p,p'-DDD), [1,1-dichloro-2, 2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene] (p,p'-DDE), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with human milk during lactation. The shortest lactation studied took 16 weeks, and the longest 84 weeks. Three hundred fifty-two milk samples, collected from each donor once a week, were examined. The analysis of the result showed individual differences in the excretion of the compounds. The findings from this study are not conclusive enough to claim that there are consistent trends showing a decrease or increase in the excretion of the compounds under examination. Thus, one cannot claim that the infants' exposure to those compounds decreases or increases as breast-feeding continues.

[Monitoring of pesticides residues in food in Poland]. / Monitoring pozostalosci pestycydów w zywnosci w Polsce.

In this paper, the results of monitoring of pesticide residues in food products are reported for the 3 years period 1995-1997. The monitoring included analysis of organochlorine compounds (DDT and its metabolites--DDD and DDE, HCH isomers alpha, beta and gamma, HCB and PCBs), pyrethroids and dithiocarbamates in variety of food products such as: milk and milk products, food for infants and children, fish products, potatoes, domestic fruit and vegetables, citrus and exotic fruits, which were taken from the market. The samples were collected from 15 regions of Poland. Mean values of sigma DDT and sigma HCH in food products of animal origin, including children foods, were much lower comparing with those, reported in previous years. Only few samples analyzed had violative residues exceeding Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for these compounds. In none of food samples of plant origin, organochlorine compounds residues exceed Polish tolerances. The residues of synthetic pyrethroids were detected in none of tested samples of potatoes. Mean concentrations of dithiocarbamate pesticides in fruit and vegetables were higher than observed at the beginning of 1990s. In five samples of leaf and stem vegetables, the detected levels of dithiocarbamates exceed or were equal to MRLs.

[Biological and environmental monitoring of exposure to chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons]. / Monitoring biologiczny i srodowiskowy narazenia na chlorowane weglowodory aromatyczne.

Polychlorinated hydrocarbons due to their lipophilic properties can cumulate in animal organisms by entering of various food chains. Food, especially of animal origin, is regarded as a major source of these compounds for man. For several years the Department of Environmental Toxicology of the National Institute of Hygiene jointly with sanitary epidemiological stations perform the monitoring of organochlorine compounds in food, including infant formula and breast milk. The results of this monitoring are presented in this paper. In order to assess the environmental exposure of man to organochlorine insecticides (DDT and HCH) and other contaminants i.e. PCBs and HCB were chosen. Samples were taken in 18 voivodships in Poland. The results show that the exposure to above compounds from food of plant origin is negligible, and that the food of animal origin is the predominant source of intake of these compounds. The results of biological monitoring show that infants fed with breast milk are of greatest risk.

[Proficiency testing for chemical analytical laboratories--general principles concerning organization and assessment of results]. / Badania bieglosci laboratoriów analitycznych--ogólne zasady organizowania i oceny wyników.

In order to promote in Poland the effective response to the international food regulations and to enhance the ability of laboratories in proving their analytical quality assurance, some general guidelines for proficiency testing have been presented according to the internationally recognised protocol (IUPAC/ISO/AOAC The International Harmonized Protocol for Proficiency Testing). The objectives of proficiency testing and its importance for accreditation for analytical laboratories were also reviewed with the special emphasis given to those dealing with food analysis. The organization of interlaboratory trials and methods for statistical treatment of results were also described, as well as reporting of results and their statistical evaluation. The proficiency testing according to the above described rules are routinely performed by the Department of Environmental Toxicology of the National Institute of Hygiene for organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in food.

[Abiotic and biotic transformation of persistent organochlorine compounds in the environment]. / Abiotyczne i biotyczne przemiany persystentnych zwiazków chloroorganicznych w srodowisku.

The presence of persistent organochlorine compounds in the environment is defined as being of anthropogenic origin. They are the result of intentional production (pesticides, solvents, dielectric and hydraulic fluids, flame retardants etc.) as well as they are produced as unintentional by-products from many processes (incineration, pulp and paper production, use and production of chlorinated aromatic chemicals and PVC). Nowadays, they are recognized as one of the major classes of the contaminants in the environment because of their wide distribution and a high capacity to bioaccumulate in organisms--especially in higher levels of the trophic food chain. They have been also claimed to cause adverse effects on organisms and human. In the paper, the main classes of chlorinated hydrocarbons are presented, including pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins. The proposed degradative pathways--abiotic (photolysis, hydrolysis) as well as biotic (biotransformation by microorganisms and higher organisms, including human) are reviewed on the basis of current literature.