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Genotoxicity of metal(loid) organic compounds in the environment
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Many studies have demonstrated that highly mobile and toxic metal(loid)organic compounds are present in environmental systems (air, water, soil and sediment), and that the production of such species is possible and likely whenever anaerobic conditions are combined with high concentrations of available metal(loid)s together with methyl donors in the presence of suitable organisms (biomethylation).
Biomethylation is a common process in the biogeochemistry of the earth's surface: The formation of volatile compounds by biological methylation (biomethylation) has been described for natural systems for As, Cd, Ge, Hg, S, Sb, Se, Sn, Te, and possibly Pb as well as for Au, Cr, Pd, Pt, and Tl under laboratory conditions.
In our lab we are studying the genotoxicity of metal(loid) organic compounds using different methods and assays: e.g. micronucleus assay, chromosome analysis, flow cytometry, comet-assay, and others. For these studies we are using in vitro cell cultures (e.g. chinese hamster ovary cells, human lymphocytes).
For more informations, please, contact Dr. E. Dopp.
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(2) |
Cellular response to particles (fine and ultrafine) and fibers
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Airborne particulate matter (PM) is a generic term for a broad class of materials of varying chemical composition and sizes that are transported in the air as discrete solid particles or liquid droplets. Ambient (outdoor) particles originate from diverse natural processes and human activities, such as forest fires, wind erosion, agricultural practices, fossil fuel combustion, industrial manufacturing, and construction of buildings and roads. The particles can be emitted directly from such sources or formed in the atmosphere from gaseous precursors such as sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides. The particles can contain heavy metals, acids, biological or biogenic material, and a great variety of other organic and inorganic materials. There is a great deal of uncertainty about the implications of the findings for risk management, due to the limited scientific information about the specific types of particles that might cause adverse health effects, the contributions of particles of outdoor origin to actual human exposures, the toxicological mechanisms by which the particles might cause adverse health effects, and other important questions.
In our lab, we are interested in the genotoxic effects of particles (and fibers) investigated in cell cultures in vitro.
Asbestos fibers: The epidemiologic association between asbestos exposure and malignant (pleural mesothelioma, bronchogenic carcinoma) as well as fibrotic lung diseases (pleural plaques and asbestosis) is well known. However, the molecular mechanisms linking human asbestos exposure and the subsequent development of these diseases are largely unknown. Various types of asbestos have been assessed for their genotoxicity, using karyotypical and morphological approaches in a number of rodent and human cell lines. But mesothelial cells are the target cells of asbestos-induced mesothelioma. Because of that we are using human mesothelial cell cultures for investigation of cellular mechanisms of asbestos induced mesothelioma (see list of publications).
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