BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Peri-implantitis is a destructive inflammatory process characterized by destruction of the implant-supporting bone. Inflammasomes are large intracellular multiprotein complexes that play a central role in innate immunity by activating the release of proinflammatory cytokines. Although inflammasome activation has previously been linked to periodontal inflammation, there ...

Metallothionein (MT) is a low molecular weight cysteine-rich protein with a number of roles in the pro/antioxidant balance and homeostasis of essential metals, such as zinc and copper, and in the detoxification of heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury. Until now, detection of metallothionein in biological fluids remained difficult because of a lack of a broadly reactive commercial test. Mea...

Previous studies have indicated that heavy metal exposure can have an effect on the central nervous system. However, research has been inadequate to fully support this claim. The aim of this work was to determine the toxic effects of heavy metal ions including Fe, Fe, Hg, Mn, Cd, Mg, and Pb on nerve cells (e.g. PC12). PC12 cells were incubated with the metal ions at four concentrations, i.e. 12...

BACKGROUND Platinum-based agents are widely used in chemotherapy against solid tumors and insufficient intracellular drug accumulation is one of the leading causes of platinum resistance which is associated with poor survival of tumor patients. Thus, the detection of intracellular platinum is pivotal for studies aiming to overcome platinum resistance. In the present study, we aimed to establish...

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plantlets were exposed to Cd or Hg to study the kinetics of diverse stress indexes. In the so-called beaker-size hydroponic system, plantlets were grown in 30 microM of Cd or Hg for 7 d. Oxidative stress took place and increased over time, a linear response being observed with Cd but not with Hg. To improve the sensitivity of the stress assays used, a micro-assay syste...

A four-point pharmacophore was constructed from energy-minimized structures of chicoric acid and dicaffeoylquinic acid. The search of 206,876 structures in the National Cancer Institute 3D database yielded 179 compounds that contain this pharmacophore. Thirty-nine of these compounds were tested in an in vitro assay specific for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase (IN). Each retrieved ...

With the rapid economic development in recent years, China is facing a great challenge due to heavy metal pollution. The heavy metals may enter the human body through ingestion of aqua products to cause great health risks. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of luteolin on the combined toxicity of multi-heavy metals (including zinc, manganese, lead, copper, cadmium, mercury, chromium a...

Industrial metals are now ubiquitous within the atmosphere and their deposition represents a potential source of contamination to surficial environments. Few studies, however, have examined the environmental fate of atmospheric industrial metals within different surface environments. In this study, patterns of accumulation of atmospherically transported industrial metals were investigated withi...

Heavy metals in textile wastewater represent a major environmental problem, and are a potential danger to human health when present on textiles. Furthermore, the presence of some metals influences the production of textiles. Heavy metals are often used as oxidizing agents, as metal complex dyes, dye stripping agents, fastness improvers, and finishers. Thus, they act as hazardous sources through...