Effect of Humic Substances on Intracellular Receptors
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2005 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | SETAC Europe, 15th annual meeting |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Environment influence on health |
| Keywords | Humic acid |
| Description | Humic substances (HS) are the major components of the mixture of materials that comprise soil organic matter, and represent the major components of dissolved organic matter in waters. Their chemical constitution is highly variable, core of HS consists mostly of alkylaromatic, aliphatic and quinoide structures, and periphery from amino- and carboxyl acids and carbonyl-, phenyl- and hydroxyl groups. Pure HS are generally regarded to be inert in ecosystems. Ecotoxicological function of HS in environment is often discussed in connection with the sorption of heavy metals and various organic xenobiotics. However, some studies indicate that HS can induce a direct adverse effect on human health and hormone-like effects on fish, amphibians and invertebrates. In this contribution we summarize our first findings on (eco)toxicologically important direct effects of HS in vitro. We have found significant inductions of Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in H4IIE.luc hepatoma cells stably transfected with a luciferase reporter gene under the control of dioxin-responsive element. Additionally, effects on activation of Estrogen receptor (ER) in MVLN cellular bioassay and EROD inductions in vitro were determined. |
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