Paraquat (PQ) is one of the most commonly used herbicides, but it has polluted the environment and threatened human health through extensive and improper usage. Here, a new naked-eye PQ immunochromatographic strip was developed to recognize PQ in domestic water and real human samples within 10 min based on a novel custom-designed anti-PQ antibody. The PQ test strip could recognize PQ at a concentration as low as 10 ng/ml, reaching the high-efficiency time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection level and identifying trace amounts of PQ in samples treated with a diquat (DQ) and PQ mixture. Notably, both the performance evaluation and clinical trial of the proposed PQ strips were validated in multiple hospitals and public health agencies. Taken together, our study firstly provide the clinical PQ-targeted colloidal gold immunochromatographic test strip designed both for environment water and human sample detection with multiple advantages, which are ready for environmental monitoring and clinical practice.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are widely present in human blood, and have many toxic effects on humans. However, effects of PFAA exposure on the risk of rheumatic immune diseases are limited. In the present study, occurrence of 7 PFAAs, including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), perfluorodecanoate (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnA), perfluorododecanoate (PFDoA), and perfluorotrdecanoate (PFTrA), were measured in serum samples from 156 healthy people (controls) and 156 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cases living in Hangzhou, China. We also investigated the relationships among cumulative PFAA levels in serum, some immune markers, and the incidence of RA. The results showed that PFOA (6.1 and 11.8 ng/mL) had the highest mean serum concentrations, followed by PFOS (3.2 and 3.4 ng/mL) and PFDA (0.86 and 2.6 ng/mL), in both controls and RA cases. Cumulative exposure to PFOA in the study population were positively correlated with the levels of rheumatoid factors (rₛ = 0.69, p < 0.01) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (rₛ = 0.56, p < 0.05). Moreover, significant associations of PFOA concentrations with odds ratios (OR) of RA (OR = 1.998, confidence interval (CI): 1.623, 2.361, p = 0.01) were found by adjusting for various covariates. The crude and adjusted OR for RA was respective 1.385 (95% CI: 1.270, 1.510, p = 0.04) and 1.381 (95% CI: 0.972, 1.658, p = 0.06) for a unit increase in serum PFOS levels, but the adjusted results were not significant. Overall, this case-control study found that human serum PFOA concentrations were positively correlated with RF and ACPA levels.

Exposure to lead(Pb) or cadmium(Cd) has been related to decreasing thyroxine in many previous studies. The underlying mechanisms have not been clarified. Heavy metal-induced thyroid autoimmunity in pregnant women has been found, despite having been rarely explored in the general population.We aimed to determine whether the blood levels of lead(BPb) or cadmium(BCd) related to the levels of sera antibodies to thyroid proteins and thyroid dysfunction in the general population.Our study included 5628 Chinese adults and was based on the 2014 SPECT-China study. Thyroid dysfunction and subclinical thyroid dysfunction were defined by total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine(TT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), thyroglobulin antibodies (TGAb), TT3, TT4, and TSH were measured by immunochemiluminometric assays. BPb and BCd levels were tested by atomic absorption spectrometry. Linear and logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations.After adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking status (men only) and drinking status, the natural log(ln) BPb was positively related to the lnTPOAb (B = 0.062, P < 0.05) and to the lnTSH (B = 0.047, P < 0.01) in women. The lnBCd in women was positively related to the lnTGAb (B = 0.046, P < 0.05). In the adjusted logistic regression models, the BCd of women was positively related to their hypothyroid status and TGAb tertiles. The ORs of women in the middle and higher TPOAb tertiles were 1.38 (P < 0.001) and 1.35 (P < 0.001) times greater for every ln-unit increase in BPb, respectively. In men, no continuous correlation was found among variables.In women, BPb and BCd levels were related to higher TSH and hypothyroid status, respectively, suggesting a Pb and Cd induction of sex-biased thyroid autoimmunity.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants (FRs) in China for decades, even after they were identified as persistent organic pollutants. In this study, serum samples were collected from 172 adults without occupational exposure who were residents of a well-known FR production region (Laizhou Bay, north China), and PBDE congeners were measured to assess their occurrence, congener profile and influencing factors in serum. Moreover, the relationships between serum concentrations of PBDEs and thyroid/liver function indicators were analyzed to evaluate whether human exposure to PBDEs would lead to thyroid/liver injury. All 8 PBDE congeners were detected at higher frequencies and serum concentrations than those found in general populations. The median levels of ∑PBDEs, BDE-209 and ∑₃₋₇PBDEs (sum of tri-to hepta-BDEs) were 64.5, 56.9 and 7.2 ng/g lw (lipid weight), respectively, which indicated that deca-BDE was the primarily produced PBDE in Laizhou Bay and that the lower brominated BDEs were still ubiquitous in the environment. Gender was a primary influencing factor for some BDE congeners in serum; their levels in female serum samples were significantly lower than those in male serum samples. Serum PBDE levels showed a downward trend with increased body mass index (BMI), which might reflect the increasing serum lipid contents. Serum levels of some BDE congeners were significantly positively correlated with certain thyroid hormones and antibodies, including free triiodothyronine (fT3), total triiodothyronine (tT3), total thyroxine (tT4) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab). Levels of some congeners were significantly negatively correlated with some types of serum lipid, including cholesterol (CHOL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and total triglyceride (TG). Other than serum lipids, only two liver function indicators, total protein (TP) and direct bilirubin (DBIL), were significantly correlated with certain BDE congeners (BDE-100 and BDE-154). Our results provide new evidence on the thyroid-disrupting and hepatotoxic effects of PBDEs.

Parabens are alkyl esters of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, which is derived from a family of synthetic esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid. Among all the kinds of paraben, two parabens (methyl paraben, MP; and n-propyl paraben, PP) are the most generally used as preservatives in personal care products, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food also, and are often presented together. However, a number of studies have reported that the toxicity of parabens affects the water environment, and human as well. This study utilized M13 phage display technology to provide easy, efficient, and relatively inexpensive methods to identify peptides that bind to MP and PP, respectively, to remove in wastewater. At first, biopanning was performed, to sort MP and PP specific binding phages, and three cases of experiment, including negative control (NC), which could sort unspecific binding phage, were conducted at the same time. Phage binding affinity tests were substituted by concentration reduction using antibody conjugated magnetic beads, and paraben concentration was measured by HPLC. Analysis showed that the MP concentration reduction of 38% was the highest in M4 phage, while the PP concentration reduction of 44% was the highest in P3 phage. We successfully screened two peptides specific to MP and PP, namely, MP4 and PP3, respectively; the results showed that the MP concentration reduction in MP4 was the highest at 44%, and the PP concentration reduction in PP3 was the highest at 39%, and their specificity was measured by the capture rate between target and control. In conclusion, the phage display technique shows applicability to the removal of parabens in water; furthermore, it also shows the possibility of the detection or removal of other chemicals.

We aimed to investigate whether exposure to low-molecular-weight saturated aliphatic aldehydes induces an airway inflammation related to lung toxicity. In previous studies, we identified that several aldehydes induced inflammatory responses through the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines.Here, we elucidate on whether hexanal exposure induces the lung inflammatory response through the secretion of cytokines. Hexanal is one of the aldehydes, which are major components of indoor environmental irritants. Based on a multiplexed cytokine antibody array, we investigated the cytokine expression profiles to identify the significant biomarkers of hexanal exposure and to predict the possibility of adverse effects on pulmonary toxicity using in vitro and in vivo model systems. We identified the cytokines as biomarkers involved in LEPTIN, Interleukin(IL)-10, MCP-1, and VEGF that showed similar expression patterns in both in vitro and in vivo models under hexanal exposure. These cytokines are known to be associated with diverse lung diseases, such as lung fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and non-small cell lung cancer.Although further studies are needed to identify the mechanisms that underlie hexanal pulmonary toxicity, these results provide the key cytokine biomarkers in response to hexanal exposure and indicate meaningful mechanistic previewing that can be indirectly attributed to lung disease.

As non-biological molecules, molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) can be made as antibody mimics for the development of luminescence sensors for various targets. The combination of MIPs with nanomaterials is further recognized as a useful option to improve the sensitivity of luminescence sensors. In this work, the recent progresses made in the fabrication of fluorescence, phosphorescence, chemiluminescence, and electrochemiluminescence sensors based on such combination have been reviewed with emphasis on the detection of pesticides/herbicides. Accordingly, the materials that are most feasible for the detection of such targets are recommended based on the MIP technologies.

Vaccines are essential for children to defend against infection. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants with the characteristics of persistence and bioaccumulation. PFAS exposure can affect the function of the nervous, endocrine, and immune system of animals and humans. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the epidemiological studies investigating potential relationships between PFAS exposure and vaccine antibody levels, and assessed whether PFAS would affect vaccine response in healthy children. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases up to February 2022. We chose studies that measured serum vaccines antibodies and PFAS concentrations of the participants. Essential information, including mean difference of percentage change, regression coefficient, odds ratio, Spearman correlation coefficient, and 95% confidence intervals, were extracted from the selected studies to conduct descriptive analysis and meta-analysis where appropriate. The qualities of these studies were evaluated as well. Finally, nine epidemiological studies about children met our inclusion criteria. A high degree of heterogeneity is observed in terms of breastfeeding time, confounder control, and detection method. Exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid is negatively associated with tetanus antibody level in children without heterogeneity by Cochran's Q test (p = 0.26; p = 0.55), and exposure to perfluorohexane sulfonate is negatively associated with tetanus antibody level but with heterogeneity (p = 0.04). This comprehensive review suggests that PFAS can have adverse health effects on children by hindering the production of vaccine antibodies. There are some consistent and negative associations between children exposure to certain PFAS and tetanus antibody level. The association of the other four vaccines (measles, rubella, mumps, and influenza) with PFAS remains uncertain, because very few studies are available. Further studies are needed to validate the possible associations.