Cell membrane‐related toxic responses and disruption of intercellular communication in PCB mechanisms of toxicity: A review

Abstract

An understanding of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener‐specific effects on cell membrane and intercellular communication is important within the studies of PCB absorption, organ‐related PCB accumulation and exertion of toxic responses. Toxic potential of PCBs is linked to various deleterious effects on human health, including neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and genotoxicity and, recently in 2016 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has upgraded the classification of PCBs to Group 1 “Carcinogenic to humans.” Proposed mechanisms of aforementioned PCBs adverse effects at cellular membrane level are: (i) downregulation of gap junction intercellular communication and/or connexins; (ii) compromised membrane integrity; and (iii) altered tight junction barrier function. This study, based on an extensive literature survey, shows the progress in scientific research of each of these three levels with the aim of pointing out the earliest toxic events of PCBs, which can result in serious cell/tissue/organ damage.

‘Cry‐for‐help’ in contaminated soil: a dialogue among plants and soil microbiome to survive in hostile conditions

“…Classified within the most deleterious persistent organic compounds (POPs) for human, animal and ecosystem health (Stockholm Convention on POPs, 2015 ; Hens and Hens, 2017 ), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a wide class of 209 congeners containing biphenyl with one up to 10 chlorine atoms. Although their production was banned worldwide in 1979 (Passatore et al ., 2014 ), PCBs still represent a threat for their teratogenic (Berghuis and Roze, 2019 ), carcinogenic (Magoni et al ., 2019 ; Guo et al ., 2020 ), mutagenic potential (Murati et al ., 2020 ), together with their recalcitrance in the environment (Simhadri et al ., 2020 ), persistence and biomagnification in the food web (Amutova et al ., 2021 ). For land reclamation, PCB‐polluted soils should be excavated for off‐site treatment by solvent extraction, thermal alkaline dechlorination, incineration or landfilling (Campanella et al ., 2002 ).…”

Ortho-substituted PCB 153: effects in CHO-K1 cells

“…PCBs are known to disrupt the endocrine, immune, nervous, and reproductive systems ( 13 , 14 ), but because most such studies have been carried out with Aroclor mixtures, little is known about the exact mechanisms of action of individual PCBs, particularly with respect to the ovaries. Sechman et al ( 15 ) have reported that PCB 153 disrupts follicular steroidogenesis, oestrogen receptor expression, and recruitment of small yellow follicles into the preovulatory hierarchy.…”

Screening Allergenic Potencies of Skin-Contact Products Using the Human-Derived THP-1 Cell Activation Test

“…Considering the disturbance of cytotoxicity on CD54 or CD86 expression, 8 the investigation on their intricate correlation showed three patterns, i.e., a bell-shaped curve, an inverse linear curve, and an irrelevant relationship (Figure 4 and Figure S9), implicating the diverse allergenic ingredients in the test extracts, which was also in line with previous cumulative data. 45 The occurrence of cytotoxicity due to a high level of stimulus exposure might cause cellular oxidative stress and upregulate CD54 or CD86, 51 while the crosstalk of CD86 and CD54 by sharing the same transcription factors could lead to the diversity and complexity in their expressions. 52,53 In summary, the present study provided substantial data on the allergy potencies of four categories of commonly used skincontact products.…”