Risk of cancer of the breast after legal abortion during first trimester: a Swedish register study.

An increase in induced abortions in Sweden has been accompanied by an increase in the incidence of breast cancer of about 40% in women aged 20-44. To assess whether the apparent risk is real the risk of breast cancer was investigated in practically all Swedish women with a history of a legal abortion in the first trimester before the age of 30 during 1966-74 (n = 49,000). The cohort was followed up in the Swedish cancer register to identify cases of breast cancer diagnosed more than five years after the abortion until the end of 1984. The number of observed cases of breast cancer was 65 compared with an expected number of 84.5, estimated from the contemporary Swedish population with due consideration to age, giving a relative risk of 0.8 (95% confidence interval 0.58 to 0.99). Contrary to most earlier reports, this study did not indicate any overall increased risk of breast cancer after an induced abortion in the first trimester in young women.     

Ochratoxin A as the cause of spontaneous nephropathy in fattening pigs.

At a number of slaughters nephropathy and high ochratoxin A contents in kidneys have been observed in fattening pigs from two Swedish farms. In one herd the source of contamination was barley grown on the home farm and stored under such conditions that the growth of fungal species (Penicillium verrucosum var. verrucosum) producing ochratoxin A occurred, with the subsequent formation of the toxin. In this case high ochratoxin A levels in fattening pigs were found during a period of about 18 months. In the second herd, where compounded feed was used, it was impossible to locate the source of contamination. It was presumed that a consignment of feed was damaged by rain during storage at the farm. Ochratoxin A was found in fattening pigs from this herd for a period of about 2 months. Ochratoxin A appeared in the kidneys of all investigated pigs. In some animals the livers, whole blood, and plasma were analyzed, too. The livers contained somewhat lower amounts of ochratoxin A than the kidneys, whereas the content in whole blood and plasma, respectively, was 5 and 13 times greater. Kidneys spontaneously contaminated with ochratoxin A, when stored for 10 months at -70 degrees C, showed no systematic decrease in toxin content.     

Ochratoxin A in blood from slaughter pigs in Sweden: use in evaluation of toxin content of consumed feed.

Samples of pig blood, intended for ochratoxin A analysis, were collected from pigs of 279 randomly selected herds. The samples were obtained at nine different slaughterhouses from different areas of Sweden. Pigs from 47 herds (16.8% of the total) exhibited ochratoxin A in amounts of greater than or equal to 2 ng of ochratoxin A per ml of blood. One sample each from a single pig per herd identified herds contaminated with ochratoxin A in amounts exceeding three times the detection limit of the method (3 x 2 ng of ochratoxin A per ml of blood = 6 ng of ochratoxin A per ml of blood). There was a good agreement between ochratoxin A concentrations in the blood from different pigs within the same herd (correlation coefficient = 0.80). The ochratoxin A concentration in pig blood was used as an estimate of the ochratoxin A content of the consumed feed. This method showed that feed from grain produced on-farm contained higher concentrations of ochratoxin A than commercial feed preparations. No geographical variation of ochratoxin A occurrence within Sweden was detected.     

Ochratoxin A in pig blood: method of analysis and use as a tool for feed studies.

A procedure is presented for screening the quality of feed in respect to ochratoxin A contamination based upon the analysis of ochratoxin A in pig blood. Representative samples from large feed lots may be obtained by using pigs as in vivo sample collectors which enrich the toxin and forms homogeneous samples in the blood. The spectrofluorometric procedure for ochratoxin A analysis (K. Hult and S. Gatenbeck, J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 59:128-129, 1976) has been adapted to pig blood and has been simplified to involve only three extraction steps. A volume of 2.5 ml of blood or plasma is needed, and the detection limit is 2 ng of ochratoxin A per ml. The disappearance of ochratoxin A from pig blood as a function of time has been studied. A feeding experiment with ochratoxin A has been performed, and the time course of the concentration of ochratoxin A in blood has been followed during the experiment.     

Cigarette smoking affects microRNAs and inflammatory biomarkers in healthy individuals and an association to single nucleotide polymorphisms is indicated

Background: Cigarette smoke induces inflammation and remodels immune response. Genetic and epigenetic alterations might be involved in the pathogenesis of smoking related diseases. In this study, we investigated the effect of smoking on systemic inflammation biomarkers and epigenetic changes at microRNA (miRNA) expression level. We also examined if the levels of inflammatory biomarkers were associated with selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Method: From 39 smokers and 101 non-smokers, levels of total white blood cells (WBCs) and its subpopulations, plasma cytokines/chemokines/proteins and miRNAs were analysed. For three biomarkers, C-reactive protein (CRP), MCP-1 and IFN-γ that were affected by smoking, the influence of SNPs was analyzed.

Result: Elevated levels of total WBCs, neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, CRP, MCP-1, IFN-γ and lower levels of miR-21 were detected in smokers. The elevated levels of IFN-γ in smokers was only statistically significantly associated with rs2069705 AG/GG SNP-genotype.

Conclusions: A lower level of oncomir miRNA-21 and a higher level of immune modelling cytokine IFN-γ detected in smokers could be a protective immune response to cigarette smoke. The higher level of IFN-γ in smokers with a specific SNP genotype also suggests that a genetic interaction with smoking might predict the pathobiology of smoking related disease.     

Ochratoxin A in pig blood: method of analysis and use as a tool for feed studies

A procedure is presented for screening the quality of feed in respect to ochratoxin A contamination based upon the analysis of ochratoxin A in pig blood. Representative samples from large feed lots may be obtained by using pigs as in vivo sample collectors which enrich the toxin and forms homogeneous samples in the blood. The spectrofluorometric procedure for ochratoxin A analysis (K. Hult and S. Gatenbeck, J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 59:128-129, 1976) has been adapted to pig blood and has been simplified to involve only three extraction steps. A volume of 2.5 ml of blood or plasma is needed, and the detection limit is 2 ng of ochratoxin A per ml. The disappearance of ochratoxin A from pig blood as a function of time has been studied. A feeding experiment with ochratoxin A has been performed, and the time course of the concentration of ochratoxin A in blood has been followed during the experiment.     

Studies on Aspergillus Fumigatus; Properties of Intracellular Proteinase

Mycelial filtrates from Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) hydrolyzed protein substrate buffered at various pH values. Using casein as substrate there were distinct activity optima at pH 2.9, pH 6.2, and pH 10, with maximum activity at pH 6.2. Using haemoglobin as substrate there were activity optima at pH 3.6, pH. 4.6, and pH 10, with the biggest activity peak at pH 4.6. The pH stability at 4°G of the caseinase activity at pH 6.2 and pH 10 was strongest at pH 4, common to both, whereas the caseinase activity at pH 2.9 showed maximum pH stability at pH 6—7. The casein hydrolyzing activity at pH 2.9, pH 6.2, and pH 10 showed different optimum incubation temperatures and irregular heat inactivation. Normal rabbit serum inhibited the caseinase activity at pH 2.9 and pH 6.2 to some extent. The caseinase activity at pH 10 was almost completely inhibited. Antiserum against mycelial filtrate showed no definite inhibition beyond that exerted by normal serum. Following electrophoresis of antiserum, the presence of specific neutralizing antibodies against the casein precipitating enzyme of mycelial filtrate from AF could be established. Investigations of 14 AF strains showed immunological uniformity with respect to the casein precipitating enzyme.