Guest Editors
Hans-Uwe Dahms, Ph.D., Kaohsiung Medical University
Mei-Fang Cho, Ph.D., Southern Taiwan University of Technology and Science
Summary
The present special issue focuses on adverse developmental effects resulting from exposure to toxic agents on gametes before conception, during prenatal development (teratogens), or post-natally until puberty. Typical factors causing reproductive/ developmental toxicity can be physical (e.g. radiation), viral and bacterial infections, or chemical: maternal metabolic imbalances (e.g. alcohol, diabetes, folic acid deficiency), drugs (e.g. anticancer drugs, antibiotics, some hormones), and environmental chemicals (e.g. mercury, lead, dioxin, organ chloride, tobacco smoke). The effects of a toxic agent depend on its type, dose and duration and time of exposure. An evaluation of different data (in silico, in vitro, in vivo) documents health and environmental relevance of experimental data and will identify knowledge gaps. It generates networks of molecular and cellular reactions which are causally linked to adverse outcomes of regulatory importance based on weight of scientific evidence. We will summarize the currently known adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) reproductive and developmental toxicity and molecular initiating events (MIE) including spermatogenesis, embryonic vascular disruption, axial malformations, epigenetic and endocrine disruption, and developmental neurotoxicity. The currently available AOPs cover only a limited range of potential reproductive and developmental disorders, restricting the generation of AOP networks. Further efforts are needed to develop AOPs, especially for AOs with causal links to chemical exposure.
This Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles regarding research into reproductive and developmental effects of environmental or pharmaceutical toxicants.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
▪ Biomarkers targeting reproductive/ developmental toxicity
▪ Mutagenicity evaluations at gamete and soma cell levels
▪ Proteomic profiles in developmental toxicity
▪ AOPs in reproductive/ developmental toxicity
▪ Functional foods for suppressing AOPs of toxicants in development
▪ Prospects and paradigms of model organisms
▪ Role of stem cells in reproductive/ developmental toxicity evaluations
▪ Role of reproductive/ developmental toxicity in higher education
▪ Synergistic effects of toxicants in development
Keywords
Developmental Toxicity, Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP), Molecular Initiating Event (MIE), Omics, Gametes, Cell Development, Cell Differentiation, Stem Cells, Cell Culture, Mutation, Embryogenesis, Teratogenesis, Cancerogenesis.
Published Papers
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Open Access
REVIEW
Control of tendon cell fate in the embryonic limb: A molecular perspective
JESSICA CRISTINA MARÍN-LLERA, CARLOS AMAURY JIMÉNEZ-CÁRDENAS, JESÚS CHIMAL-MONROY
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.3, pp. 465-471, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.024625
（This article belongs to this Special Issue:
Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract The molecular cascade underlying tendon formation starts when progenitor cells begin to express the
Scleraxis (
Scx) gene.
Scx knockout mice develop some but not all tendons, suggesting that additional factors are necessary for tendon commitment, maintenance, and differentiation. Other transcription factors, such as
Mohawk (
Mkx) or early growth response (
Egr), maintain
Scx expression and extracellular matrix formation during fibrillogenesis. The inhibition of wingless and int-related protein signaling is necessary and sufficient to induce the expression of
Scx. Once the commitment of tenogenic lineage occurs, transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) induces the
Scx gene expression, becoming involved in the maintenance of tendon…
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Open Access
MINI-REVIEW
Effects of areca nut consumption on cell differentiation of osteoblasts, myoblasts, and fibroblasts
YUNG-FU CHANG
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 283-287, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025743
（This article belongs to this Special Issue:
Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Areca nut is used worldwide as a hallucinogenic addicting drug along the tropical belt. Arecoline, a toxic compound, is the most important alkaloid in areca nuts. The adverse effects of oral uptake and chewing of areca nut are well known. For example, the possibility of cancer caused by chewing areca nuts is widely discussed. Chewing areca nut has other adverse effects on other organs, including abnormal cell differentiation, oral cancer, and several other diseases. The use of areca nut is also associated with low birthweight. Skeletal musculature is the largest organ in the body and is attached to the bones.…
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Open Access
ARTICLE
The peptide fraction of Bothrops jararaca snake venom induces toxicological effects on the male reproductive system after local envenomation in mice
CARLOS ALBERTO-SILVA, ANA CAROLINA DE ARAUJO, RODRIGO SIMãO BONFIM, JOYCE MEIRE GILIO
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 289-295, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023787
（This article belongs to this Special Issue:
Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Bothrops envenomation is complex and provokes prominent local tissue damage and systemic disturbances, but little is known about their effects on the male reproductive system. After intratesticular injection, the bioactive peptide fraction (Bj-PF) obtained from
Bothrops jararaca snake venom changes the structure of different stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle in adult mice. For the first time, we investigated whether local envenomation of Bj-PF induces toxicological effects on the male reproductive system, particularly on the seminiferous epithelium and Sertoli cells. Male adult mice were treated with 0.24 mg.kg
−1 by intramuscular (i.m.) injection for 24 h. The testes samples were collected…
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Open Access
ARTICLE
Columbianetin acetate inhibits the occurrence and development of pancreatic cancer cells by down-regulating the expression of Meiotic nuclear divisions 1
KANG SUN, DONGQIN WANG, ZHIQIANG ZHANG, YINLONG HUANG, XIAOFU LIAN, JIALE HUA, JING ZHANG, CHAOQUN LIAN
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 297-307, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023553
（This article belongs to this Special Issue:
Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Columbianetin acetate (CE) is one of the effective components of
Angelica pubescens. So far, the specific role and molecular mechanism of CE in pancreatic cancer are not clear. Thus, this study aimed to explore the specific mechanism of CE on pancreatic cancer. The target genes combined with CE were predicted through the PharmMapper database and the 3D molecular structure of CE. Then, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Cistrome data browser (DB) databases were used to screen Meiotic nuclear divisions 1 (MND1)-related genes, transcription factors, and transcription factor data sets, and the intersection of the above data sets. The “limma”…
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Open Access
REVIEW
Drosophila melanogaster as an indispensable model to decipher the mode of action of neurotoxic compounds
MONALISA MISHRA, PUNYATOYA PANDA, BEDANTA KUMAR BARIK, AMRITA MONDAL, MRUTUNJAYA PANDA
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 51-69, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.023392
（This article belongs to this Special Issue:
Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Exposure to some toxic compounds causes structural and behavioral anomalies associated with the neurons in
the later stage of life. Those toxic compounds are termed as a neurotoxicant, which can be a physical factor, a toxin, an
infection, radiation, or maybe a drug. The incongruities caused due to a neurotoxicant further depend on the toxicity of
the compound. More importantly, the neurotoxicity of the compound is associated with the concentration and the time
point of exposure. The neurodevelopmental defect appears depending on the toxicity of the compound. A
neurodevelopmental defect may be associated with a delay in developmental time, defective…
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