Biomonitoring of pharmacists and nurses at occupational risk from handling antineoplastic agents.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of genetic lesions in pharmacists and nurses who prepare and/or handle antineoplastic agents and to evaluate whether there are traces of contaminants in the urine of these professionals. METHODS: A total of 59 professionals participated in the study, of which 10 were non-exposed professionals (controls), 25 were pharmacists, and 24 were nurses. KEY FINDINGS: There was a significant increase in genetic damage in lymphocytes and cells of the oral mucosa in both pharmacists and nurses. The levels of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide were also increased in the urine samples from those individuals. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the growing need for genetic biomonitoring and biomonitoring of trace antineoplastic agents in the urine of health professionals who prepare and/or handle antineoplastic agents.

Assessment of acute toxicity and cytotoxicity of fluorescent markers produced by cardanol and glycerol, which are industrial waste, to different biological models.

The amphyphylic triazoanilines recently synthesized 1-(4-(3-aminophenyl)-1H-1,2,3- triazole-1-yl)-3-(3-pentadecylphenoxy)propan-2-ol (1) and 1-(4-(4-aminophenyl)-1H- 1,2,3-triazole-1-yl)-3-(3-pentadecylphenoxy)propan-2-ol (2), synthesized from cardanol and glycerol, have photophysical properties which allow their use in the development of fluorescent biomarkers with applicability in the biodiesel quality control. Based on this, the present research evaluated the toxic effects of both compounds in different biological models through the investigation of survival and mortality percentages as a measure of acute toxicity on Daphnia similis and Oreochromis niloticus, larvicidal assay against Aedes aegypti, and cytotoxic activity on mammary cells. Results demonstrate that these triazoanilines 1 and 2 have shown low acute toxicity to the biological models investigated in this study up to the following concentrations: 4.0 mg L-1 (D. similis), 4.0 mg L-1 (A. aegypti larvae), 1.0 mg L-1 (O. niloticus), and 1.0 mg mL-1 (mammary cells). This fact suggests the potential for safe use of compounds 1 and 2 as fluorescent markers for the monitoring of biodiesel quality, even in the case of environmental exposure. Besides all of that, the reuse of cardanol and glycerol, both industrial wastes, favors the maintenance of environmental health and is in agreement with the assumptions of green chemistry. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Resorcinolic lipid 3-heptyl-3,4,6-trimethoxy-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one is a strategy for melanoma treatment.

AIMS: Previous studies performed by our research group indicated that cytosporone analogues are capable of prevent or repair DNA damages. This work presents the evaluation of the activity of AMS35AA for metastatic murine melanoma cells (B16F10) in experimental model in vitro and, in pre-clinic assay of metastatic melanoma in vivo, using mice lineage C57BL/6. MAIN METHODS: In vitro assays were performed: MTT and comet assay, flow cytometry evaluation, gene expression assay by RT-PCR, qualitative evaluation of cell death using B16F10 cells. In vivo assays: micronucleus and comet assay, splenic phagocytosis, melanoma murine model and histopathological analysis, using mice lineage C57BL/6 (n = 20). KEY FINDINGS: In vitro results performed by MTT assay showed that AMS35AA is cytotoxic for B16F10 cells (p < 0.05). Based on comet assay the genotoxicity of the IC50 was determined (95.83 µg/mL) (p < 0.05). These data were corroborated by flow cytometry analysis after the treatment with AMS35AA, which indicates the cellular death by apoptosis (p < 0.05) and increasing of ATR, p53, p21 and GADD45 gene expressions verified using RT-PCR. With respect to in vivo results, it was observed that AMS35AA did not show genotoxic activity. Data of tumor volume ex vivo indicate reduction of tumor for the treated animals with AMS35AA up to 15.84×, which is superior to Dacarbazina (50 mg/Kg, p.c.; i.p.). SIGNIFICANCE: In summary, the study showed that AMS35AA reveals relevant results regarding to cytotoxicity of B16F10 murine melanoma cells, inducing death by apoptosis via mitochondrial and/or mediated by DNA damages.

Vitamin D: Correlation with biochemical and body composition changes in a southern Brazilian population and induction of cytotoxicity in mesenchymal stem cells derived from human adipose tissue.

Studies have shown that metabolic disorders, serum inflammatory markers and weight gain (obesity) are correlated with vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, the present study correlated the serum calcidiol (s25(OH)D3) levels in a sample of individuals from southern Brazil with variables related to metabolic disorders, obesity and lifestyle habits and assessed the cytotoxic effect of calcitriol on adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs). The results showed a 79.23% prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the study population and a correlation (p<0.05) between a low serum vitamin D concentration and an elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) level. Univariate linear regression analysis using 25(OH)D3 as a regressor showed a negative association (p<0.05) with an indoor work environment (ß=-2.305), increased body fat (ß=-0.095), age (ß=-0.065) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c; ß=-0.109). An in vitro 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay performed with ADSCs using five calcitriol concentrations (15.625, 31.25, 62.5, 125 and 250nM) indicated cytotoxic potential (p<0.05) at the 62.5nM concentration at 48 and 72h and at the 125 and 250nM concentrations at 24, 48 and 72h. The results reported herein corroborate one another and suggest a key association between vitamin D deficiency and the development of obesity because ADSCs are involved in adipose tissue hyperplasia and differentiate into adipocytes that can sequester the bioavailable vitamin D necessary for homeostasis.