Safety Assessment of Canola Oil Extracted by Aid of Pulsed Electric Field: Genetic, Acute and Subacute Toxicity.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a nonthermal technology resulting in the rupture of cell membranes and increasing the electrical conductivity and the permeability of intracellular material. There was little work about the safety of food treated by PEF. The acute, subacute oral, and genetic toxicities were investigated to explore the safety of canola oil extracted by aid of PEF treatment (PTCO). The results showed that no negative consequences were caused by PEF. PTCO was regarded as practically non-toxic with a LD50 higher than 40 g/kg bw. No oil intake-related mortality, clinical, weight gain and organ coefficient abnormalities were observed. The histopathological symptoms indicated a mild load but not obvious toxicities on liver and kidney. The 28-day subacute toxicity test confirmed that less than 10 g/kg·d bw of oil intake did not exhibit any intake-related changes in physical, physiological, biochemical, hematological, and histopathological signs. The less than 4 of atherosclerosis index suggested that no risk of cardiovascular disease caused by PTCO intake. It was speculated that the PEF treatment would not cause any safety issues to food products.

Potential Indicators of Mitochondrial Structure and Function.

Mitochondria regulate a range of important physiological and biochemical cellular processes including apoptotic cell death, energy production, calcium homeostasis, oxidative stress, and lipid metabolism. Given their role as the 'engines' of cells, their dysfunction is associated with a variety of disease states. Exploring the relationship between mitochondrial function and disease can reveal the mechanism(s) of drug activity and disease pathology. In this review, we summarized the methods of evaluating the structure and function of mitochondria, including the morphology, membrane fluidity, membrane potential, opening of the membrane permeability transition pore, inner membrane permeabilization, mitochondrial dynamics, mitophagy, oxidative stress, energy metabolism-related enzymes, apoptotic pathway related proteins, calcium concentration, DNA copy number, oxygen consumption, ß-oxidation-related genes and proteins, cardiolipin content, and adenosine triphosphate content. We believe that the information presented in this review will help explore the pathological processes of mitochondria in the occurrence and development of diseases, as well as the activity and mechanism of drugs, and the discovery of new drugs.

Specific CYP450 Genotypes in the Chinese Population Affect Sorafenib Toxicity in HBV/HCV-associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to screen for frequencies of different CYP450 genotypes in the Chinese population and explore the relationship between sorafenib toxicity and CYP450 polymorphism. METHODS: A total of 600 peripheral blood samples were obtained from two groups for this study. The first group of 300 samples were from Chinese patients with HBV/HCV-associated HCC, while the remaining 300 samples were from a healthy population of recruited subjects. Allele-specific PCR and long-fragment gene sequencing was used to identify the frequencies of CYP450 polymorphism. Aflatoxin-induced HCC rat models expressing CYP3A4*1, CYP3A5*3, CYP2C19*2, and CYP2D6*10 were established and treated with sorafenib at certain time points. Hepatic and renal function, along with plasma concentration of sorafenib, were monitored regularly. RESULTS: The most common forms of CYP mutations in the Chinese population were identified. The levels of sorafenib plasma concentration, as well as damage to hepatic and renal function in aflatoxin-induced HCC rat models varied significantly across the different CYP genotypes. CONCLUSION: The mutational frequencies of CYP3A5, CYP3A4, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6 genotypes varied among different ethnic groups and populations. Individuals with CYP3A5*3 demonstrated minimal sorafenib metabolism, which led to severe hepatic and renal damage. Inter-individual variability in sorafenib-toxicity may be interpreted by CYP450 genetic polymorphisms, suggesting that identification of CYP polymorphism within a certain population should be considered in sorafenib therapy.