October 2021 Member Publications

  1. Bhatnagar A. Cardiovascular Effects of Particulate Air Pollution. Annu Rev Med. 2021 Oct 13. doi: 10.1146/annurev-med-042220-011549. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34644154.
    Impact Statement: Reviews current state of knowledge about the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular disease and mortality. It discusses the mechanisms by which exposure to air pollution affects cardiovascular risk factors and the subclinical progression of cardiovascular disease states.
  2. Singh M, Kapoor A, Bhatnagar A. Physiological and Pathological Roles of Aldose Reductase. Metabolites. 2021 Sep 27;11(10):655. doi: 10.3390/metabo11100655. PMID: 34677370; PMCID: PMC8541668.
    Impact Statement: Reviews the role of aldose reductase in glucose metabolism and the detoxification of reactive aldehydes generated from the oxidation of membrane lipids and how the enzyme participates in the manifestation of the secondary complications of diabetes.
  3. Malovichko MV, Abplanalp WT, McFall SA, Taylor BS, Wickramasinghe NS, Sithu ID, Zelko IN, Uchida S, Hill BG, Sutaria SR, Nantz MH, Bhatnagar A,Conklin DJ, O'Toole TE, Srivastava S. Subclinical markers of cardiovascular toxicity of benzene inhalation in mice. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2021 Nov 15;431:115742. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2021.115742. Epub 2021 Oct 5. PMID: 34624356.
    Impact Statement: Benzene is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant. Recent population-based studies suggest that benzene exposure is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, it is unclear whether benzene exposure by itself is sufficient to induce cardiovascular toxicity. We examined the effects of benzene inhalation (50 ppm, 6 h/day, 5 days/week, 6 weeks) or HEPA-filtered air exposure on the biomarkers of cardiovascular toxicity in male C57BL/6J mice. Together, these data suggest that benzene exposure induces endothelial injury, enhances platelet activation and inflammatory processes; and circulatory levels of endothelial cell and platelet-derived microparticles and platelet-leukocyte aggregates are excellent biomarkers of cardiovascular toxicity of benzene.
  4. Xiong L, Zhou B, Liu H, Cai L. Comprehensive Review of Cadmium Toxicity Mechanisms in Male Reproduction and Therapeutic Strategies. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 2021 Oct 8. doi: 10.1007/398_2021_75. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34618232.
    Impact Statement: Cadmium (Cd) has been widely studied as an environmental pollutant for many years with several organs, and this review focused on toxic effects of Cd exposure on male reproductive system. Currently preclinical animal studies have confirmed many proteins and intracellular signaling pathways involved in the pathological process of Cd-induced male reproductive damage and potential measures for prophylaxis and treatment, which primarily include antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and essential ion supplement. The underlying mechanisms for Cd-induced toxicity on male reproductive function was comprehensively discussed, which may provide guidance for the treatment and prevention of Cd-induced male reproductive toxicity.
  5. Li J, Jin S, Barati MT, Rane S, Lin Q, Tan Y, Cai L, Rane MJ. ERK and p38 MAPK inhibition controls NF-E2 degradation and profibrotic signaling in renal proximal tubule cells. Life Sci. 2021 Oct 26:120092. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.120092. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34715142.
    Impact Statement: Li et. al. demonstrated p38 and ERK MAPK-dependent proteasomal degradation of the anti-fibrotic protein NF-E2 in TGF-β treated human renal proximal (HK-11) cells. Moreover, activation of the proteasome and loss of NF-E2 expression, induced JNK activation and CTGF expression. In contrast, proteasomal inhibition and NF-E2 over-expression, inhibited TGF-β-induced JNK activation an CTGF expression HK-11 cells and type 1 diabetic kidneys. Thus, NF-E2 could serve as a therapeutic target to generate therapies to prevent progression of renal fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, and renal failure associated with diabetes.
  6. Zelko IN, Dassanayaka S, Malovichko MV, Howard CM, Garrett LF, Uchida S, Brittian KR, Conklin DJ, Jones SP, Srivastava S. Chronic Benzene Exposure Aggravates Pressure Overload-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction. Toxicol Sci. 2021 Oct 27:kfab125. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfab125. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34718823.
    Impact Statement: Benzene is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant abundant in household products, petrochemicals and cigarette smoke. Benzene is a well-known carcinogen in humans and experimental animals; however, little is known about the cardiovascular toxicity of benzene. It is unclear whether benzene exposure is sufficient to induce and/or exacerbate heart failure. We examined the effects of benzene, these data suggest that benzene exacerbates heart failure by promoting endothelial activation and neutrophil recruitment.
  7. DeJarnett N. Joining Forces With Environmental Health Professionals. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021 Nov-Dec 01;27(6):621-622. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001430. PMID: 34554999.
    Impact Statement: This article describes concrete actions leaders in public health practice can take alongside local environmental health practitioners to champion climate sustainability, including evaluating capacity for climate action, fostering strategic partnerships, supporting career pathways, connecting with grassroots groups, and using storytelling as a communications tool.
  8. Huang J, Firestone S, Moffatt-Bruce S, Tibi P, Shore-Lesserson L. 2021 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Anesthesiologists on Patient Blood Management in Cardiac Surgery. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2021 Sep 24:S1053-0770(21)00845-4. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2021.09.032. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34654633.
    Impact Statement: This 2021 STS/SCA/AmSECT/SABM updated patient blood management guideline stresses the importance of an evidence-based, multimodal, and multidisciplinary approach to preserving a patient’s blood and conserving resources so as to optimize outcomes in patients who are at high risk for transfusion.
  9. Huntington-Moskos L, Rayens MK, Wiggins AT, Butler KM, Hahn EJ. Use of Theory-Driven Report Back to Promote Lung Cancer Risk Reduction. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Oct 11;18(20):10648. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182010648. PMID: 34682394; PMCID: PMC8536114.
    Impact Statement: The goal of this work is to highlight the role of a report back process in prompting health behavior change. Report back is active sharing of research findings with participants to prompt behavior change. In particular, research on a theory-driven report back process for environmental risk reduction is limited. Our research team sought to evaluate the impact of a stage-tailored report back process with participants who had high home radon and/or air nicotine levels. We found that tailored report back of research findings to individual participants reduced radon exposure and changed the health behavior necessary to remediate radon and SHS exposure.
  10. Wahlang B, Gripshover TC, Gao H, Krivokhizhina T, Keith RJ, Sithu ID, Rai SN, Bhatnagar A, McClain CJ, Srivastava S, Cave MC. Associations between residential exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and liver injury markers. Toxicol Sci. 2021 Oct 20:kfab119. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfab119. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34668566.
    Impact Statement: This publication investigated the effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often found in air, and their contribution to liver disease, in Louisville community residents. The results from the study demonstrated significant positive associations between these environmental chemicals and liver disease biomarkers, which were more pronounced in smokers. These findings can help in better risk assessment of daily VOC exposures and provide some insight on how lifestyle factors such as smoking can contribute to liver disease risk.
  11. Zelko IN, Taylor BS, Das TP, Watson WH, Sithu ID, Wahlang B, Malovichko MV, Cave MC, Srivastava S. Effect of vinyl chloride exposure on cardiometabolic toxicity. Environ Toxicol. 2021 Oct 30. doi: 10.1002/tox.23394. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34717031.
    Impact Statement: Vinyl chloride (VC) is an organochlorine mainly used to manufacture its polymer polyvinyl chloride, which is extensively used in the manufacturing of consumer products. Recent studies suggest that chronic low dose VC exposure affects glucose homeostasis in high fat diet-fed mice. Our data suggest that even in the absence of high fat diet, exposure to VC (0.8 ppm, 6 h/day, 5 day/week, for 12 weeks) induces glucose intolerance (1.0 g/kg, i.p.) in male C57BL/6 mice.
  12. Rouchka EC, Chariker JH, Saurabh K, Waigel S, Zacharias W, Zhang M, Talley D, Santisteban I, Puccio M, Moyer S, Holm RH, Yeager RA, Sokoloski KJ, Fuqua J, Bhatnagar A, Smith T. The Rapid Assessment of Aggregated Wastewater Samples for Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 on a City-Wide Scale. Pathogens. 2021 Oct 1;10(10):1271. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10101271. PMID: 34684220; PMCID: PMC8541652.
    Impact Statement: This paper describes a collaborative effort between Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness, The Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District, and the University of Louisville to monitor COVID-19 and track variant spread through testing of wastewater samples over a 28 week period. The information gained from this work enabled targeted public health efforts including outreach to at-risk communities and the deployment of mobile and community-focused vaccination campaigns.