Articles

A perspective of Genes and Environment for the development of environmental mutagen research in Asia

Two years have passed since the Japanese Environmental Society (JEMS) made the official journal Genes and Environment (G&E) open access. Current subjects on environmental mutagen research to further advance this ...

Authors: Takashi Yagi

Radioprotective activity of blackcurrant extract evaluated by in vitro micronucleus and gene mutation assays in TK6 human lymphoblastoid cells

Blackcurrant (Ribs nigrum L.) is a classical fruit that has long been used to prepare juice, jam, liqueur, and sometimes medicines in Europe. Previously, we reported a genome defense effect by the antioxidative a...

Authors: Ayumi Yamamoto, Tokuhisa Hirouchi, Saori Kawamorita, Kana Nakashima, Atena Sugiyama and Yoji Kato

Generation, repair and replication of guanine oxidation products

Guanine is the most readily oxidized of the four DNA bases, and guanine oxidation products cause G:C-T:A and G:C-C:G transversions through DNA replication. 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) causes G:C-T:A tran...

Authors: Katsuhito Kino, Masayo Hirao-Suzuki, Masayuki Morikawa, Akane Sakaga and Hiroshi Miyazawa

Association between transported Asian dust and outdoor fungal concentration during winter in a rural area of western Japan

Recently, Asian dust (AD) has become a serious health problem and several studies have clearly proven that AD can aggravate asthma. However, it remains unclear as to which components of AD have a strong effect...

Authors: Kyoko Iwata, Masanari Watanabe, Jun Kurai, Naoto Burioka, Sachiko Nakamoto, Degejirihu Hantan and Eiji Shimizu

Further evidence for the association of CYP2D6*4 gene polymorphism with Parkinson’s disease: a case control study

Genetic and environmental risk factors play an important role for the susceptibility to sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD). It was hypothesized that a splice variant of the CYP2D6 gene (CYP2D6*4 allele) is associa...

Authors: Anwarullah, Muhammad Aslam, Mazhar Badshah, Rashda Abbasi, Aneesa Sultan, Kafaitullah Khan, Nafees Ahmad and Jakob von Engelhardt

Erratum to: Genes and Environment, Vol. 39

Authors:

Giemsa-stained pseudo-micronuclei in rat skin treated with vitamin D₃ analog, pefcalcitol

Pefcalcitol, an analog of vitamin D₃ (VD₃), is an anti-psoriatic drug candidate that is designed to achieve much higher pharmacological effects, such as keratinocyte differentiation, than those of VD_3, with fewer...

Authors: Akira Takeiri, Kenji Tanaka, Asako Harada, Kaori Matsuzaki, Mariko Yano, Shigeki Motoyama, Chie Katoh and Masayuki Mishima

Effect of physicochemical character differences on the genotoxic potency of kaolin

Kaolin is white clay mineral with the chemical composition Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄, and many varieties of kaolins having different crystal structures are utilized in industrial, cosmetic and medical fields. To evaluate the...

Authors: Tatsuya Kato, Tatsushi Toyooka, Yuko Ibuki, Shuichi Masuda, Masatoshi Watanabe and Yukari Totsuka

Modulation of benzo[a]pyrene–DNA adduct formation by CYP1 inducer and inhibitor

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a well-studied pro-carcinogen that is metabolically activated by cytochrome P450 enzymes. Cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) has been considered to play a central role in the activation step, whi...

Authors: Kazuhiro Shiizaki, Masanobu Kawanishi and Takashi Yagi

Evaluation of in vivo mutagenesis for assessing the health risk of air pollutants

Various kind of chemical substances, including man-made chemical products and unintended products, are emitted to ambient air. Some of these substances have been shown to be mutagenic and therefore to act as a...

Authors: Yasunobu Aoki

New insight for metformin against bladder cancer

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimated that bladder cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the world, with 430,000 new cases and 165,000 deaths in 2012. Bladder cancer represents the f...

Authors: Amr Ahmed EL-Arabey

The 10th anniversary of the publication of genes and environment: memoir of establishing the Japanese environmental mutagen society and a proposal for a new collaborative study on mutagenic hormesis

The Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (JEMS) was established in 1972 by 147 members, 11 of whom are still on the active list as of May 1, 2016. As one of them, I introduce some historic topics here. These...

Authors: Shizuyo Sutou

Tumor-augmenting effects of gestational arsenic exposure on F1 and F2 in mice

The consequences of early-life exposure to chemicals in the environment are emerging concerns. Chronic exposure to naturally occurring inorganic arsenic has been known to cause various adverse health effects, ...

Authors: Keiko Nohara, Takehiro Suzuki, Kazuyuki Okamura, Junya Matsushita and Shota Takumi

Evolution of genotoxicity test methods in Japan

The evolution of methods to assess genotoxicity of test compounds is thought to be one of the important subjects in The Japanese Environmental and Mutagen Society (JEMS). In 1970, the Ministry of Education of...

Authors: Toshio Sofuni

Transgenic rat models for mutagenesis and carcinogenesis

Rats are a standard experimental animal for cancer bioassay and toxicological research for chemicals. Although the genetic analyses were behind mice, rats have been more frequently used for toxicological resea...

Authors: Takehiko Nohmi, Kenichi Masumura and Naomi Toyoda-Hokaiwado

Estrogen- and stress-induced DNA damage in breast cancer and chemoprevention with dietary flavonoid

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed female cancers and a leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Multiple factors are responsible for breast cancer and heritable factors have received m...

Authors: Michiko T. Yasuda, Hiroyuki Sakakibara and Kayoko Shimoi

Genetic polymorphisms of human cytochrome P450 CYP1A1 in an Egyptian population and tobacco-induced lung cancer

Cytochrome P450 CYP1A1 helps detoxify the potential carcinogens in tobacco smoke, it was reported that polymorphisms in the coding gene result in variation in the expression and activity levels which alter met...

Authors: Nada Ezzeldin, Dalia El-Lebedy, Amira Darwish, Ahmed El-Bastawisy, Mirhane Hassan, Shereen Abd El-Aziz, Mohamed Abdel-Hamid and Amal Saad-Hussein

DNA polymerase kappa protects human cells against MMC-induced genotoxicity through error-free translesion DNA synthesis

Interactions between genes and environment are critical factors for causing cancer in humans. The genotoxicity of environmental chemicals can be enhanced via the modulation of susceptible genes in host human c...

Authors: Yuki Kanemaru, Tetsuya Suzuki, Akira Sassa, Kyomu Matsumoto, Noritaka Adachi, Masamitsu Honma, Satoshi Numazawa and Takehiko Nohmi

Isolation and characterization of antimutagenic components of Glycyrrhiza aspera against N-methyl-N-nitrosourea

A powdered ethanolic extract of Glycyrrhiza aspera root exhibits antimutagenic activity against N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) based on the Ames assay with Salmonella typhimurium TA1535. The aim of this study was t...

Authors: Keiko Inami, Yusuke Mine, Jin Tatsuzaki, Chihiro Mori and Masataka Mochizuki

Absence of in vivo mutagenicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in single intratracheal instillation study using F344 gpt delta rats

It is known that fibrous particles of micrometer length, such as carbon nanotubes, which have same dimensions as asbestos, are carcinogenic. Carcinogenicity of nanomaterials is strongly related to inflammatory...

Authors: Katsuyoshi Horibata, Akiko Ukai, Akio Ogata, Dai Nakae, Hiroshi Ando, Yoshikazu Kubo, Akemichi Nagasawa, Katsuhiro Yuzawa and Masamitsu Honma

Nitrative and oxidative DNA damage in infection-related carcinogenesis in relation to cancer stem cells

Infection and chronic inflammation have been recognized as important factors for carcinogenesis. Under inflammatory conditions, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are generated f...

Authors: Shosuke Kawanishi, Shiho Ohnishi, Ning Ma, Yusuke Hiraku, Shinji Oikawa and Mariko Murata

Development and progress for three decades in umu test systems

Umu test have been widely used to predict the detection and assessment of DNA- damaging chemicals in environmental genotoxicity field for three decades. This test system is more useful wi...

Authors: Yoshimitsu Oda

In the beginning when the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society was established

Upon the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the journal, “Genes and Environment”, the history of sciences on environmental mutagens in Japan was reviewed.

Authors: Takashi Sugimura

Mutations induced by 8-hydroxyguanine (8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine), a representative oxidized base, in mammalian cells

Guanine oxidation occurs in both DNA and the cellular nucleotide pool, and one of the major products is 8-hydroxyguanine (8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine). The mutagenic potentials of this oxidized base have been exa...

Authors: Tetsuya Suzuki and Hiroyuki Kamiya

Inhibitory effect of Actinidia arguta on mutagenesis, inflammation and two-stage mouse skin tumorigenesis

Actinidia arguta, known as sarunashi in Japan, is a vine tree native to east-Asia, including Japan, that produces small fruit rich in anthocyanins, catechins, vitamin C, chlorophyll, b...

Authors: Mari Nishimura, Yuma Okimasu, Naoko Miyake, Misako Tada, Ryoko Hida, Tomoe Negishi and Sakae Arimoto-Kobayashi

Selective enhancing effect of metal ions on mutagenicity

We investigated the enhancing effect of metal ions on several mutagens and examined their mechanism of action. We performed the Ames tests on six mutagens, i.e., 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)acrylamide, 4-ni...

Authors: Nobuyoshi Fujii, Shigemitsu Yano and Kenji Takeshita

Genotoxicity assessment of 4-methylimidazole: regulatory perspectives

4-Methylimidazole (4-MI) is formed as a result of the Maillard reaction process, and therefore is found in many foods and beverages. It is also found in soft drinks (i.e., cola) as a by-product in the producti...

Authors: Takeshi Morita and Chikako Uneyama

Structural chromosome aberrations cause swelling of the nucleus

Carcinogens are known to cause swelling of the mammalian cell nucleus. However, the mechanism of the swelling and its toxicological significance have not been fully elucidated. Since nuclear swelling (NS herea...

Authors: Kenji Takeshita, Hiroaki I. Ogawa and Toshinari Maeda

The micronucleus test—most widely used in vivo genotoxicity test—

Genotoxicity is commonly evaluated during the chemical safety assessment together with other toxicological endpoints. The micronucleus test is always included in many genotoxic test guidelines for long time in...

Authors: Makoto Hayashi

Mutagenic consequences of cytosine alterations site-specifically embedded in the human genome

Cytosine residues in CpG dinucleotides often undergo various types of modification, such as methylation, deamination, and halogenation. These types of modifications can be pro-mutagenic and can contribute to t...

Authors: Akira Sassa, Yuki Kanemaru, Nagisa Kamoshita, Masamitsu Honma and Manabu Yasui

Contribution to regulatory science and a next challenge of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (JEMS)

Many members of The Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (JEMS) have significantly contributed to guidelines on chemical genotoxicity. The guidelines have been useful for the hazard identification and risk a...

Authors: Yoshifumi Uno

Collaborative studies in toxicogenomics in rodent liver in JEMS·MMS; a useful application of principal component analysis on toxicogenomics

Toxicogenomics is a rapidly developing discipline focused on the elucidation of the molecular and cellular effects of chemicals on biological systems. As a collaborative study group of Toxicogenomics/JEMS·MMS,...

Authors: Chie Furihata, Takashi Watanabe, Takayoshi Suzuki, Shuichi Hamada and Madoka Nakajima

Oral environment and cancer

Cancer is now the leading cause of death in Japan. A rapid increase in cancer mortality is expected as Japan is facing a super-aged society. Many causes of cancer are known to be closely linked to life style f...

Authors: Yasusei Kudo, Hidesuke Tada, Natsumi Fujiwara, Yoshiko Tada, Takaaki Tsunematsu, Yoichiro Miyake and Naozumi Ishimaru

What causes human cancer? Approaches from the chemistry of DNA damage

To prevent human cancers, environmental mutagens must be identified. A common mechanism of carcinogenesis is DNA damage, and thus it is quite possible that environmental mutagens can be trapped as adducts by D...

Authors: Hiroshi Kasai

Cancer in Japan: Prevalence, prevention and the role of heterocyclic amines in human carcinogenesis

In this article, three topics are being studied in order to understand the present state of cancer in Japan. First, the statistics on cancer mortality indicates that the mortality from cancer in young individu...

Authors: Minako Nagao and Shoichiro Tsugane

Acknowledgement to reviewers

The editors of Genes and Environment would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume XXXVII (2015).

Authors: Takashi Yagi

A message to Fukushima: nothing to fear but fear itself

The linear no-threshold model (LNT) has been the basis for radiation protection policies worldwide for 60 years. LNT was fabricated without correct data. The lifespan study of Atomic bomb survivors (LSS) has p...

Authors: Shizuyo Sutou

Gut microbiota and colorectal cancer

The mucosal immune system is unique to the gastrointestinal mucosa, in which a large number of immune cells are located and exert multiple functions. Meanwhile, ~100 trillion microorganisms are thought to co-i...

Authors: Mayuko Yamamoto and Satoshi Matsumoto

Mechanisms of interstrand DNA crosslink repair and human disorders

Interstrand DNA crosslinks (ICLs) are the link between Watson-Crick strands of DNAs with the covalent bond and prevent separation of DNA strands. Since the ICL lesion affects both strands of the DNA, the ICL r...

Authors: Satoru Hashimoto, Hirofumi Anai and Katsuhiro Hanada

Life Style and Cancer – The Open Symposium of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (JEMS) in 2015

The Open Symposium of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (JEMS), entitled “Life Style and Cancer”, was held at the Shiba-Kyoritsu campus of Keio University, Tokyo, on May 30, 2015. The major aim of thi...

Authors: Hiroyuki Kamiya and Shinji Oikawa

Estimation of the frequency of inherited germline mutations by whole exome sequencing in ethyl nitrosourea-treated and untreated gpt delta mice

Germline mutations are heritable and may cause health disadvantages in the next generation. To investigate trans-generational mutations, we treated male gpt delta mice with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) (85 mg/kg i...

Authors: Kenichi Masumura, Naomi Toyoda-Hokaiwado, Akiko Ukai, Yoichi Gondo, Masamitsu Honma and Takehiko Nohmi

Effects of NSAIDs on the risk factors of colorectal cancer: a mini review

Evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies has shown that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The function of NSAIDs and the molecular targets...

Authors: Takahiro Hamoya, Gen Fujii, Shingo Miyamoto, Mami Takahashi, Yukari Totsuka, Keiji Wakabayashi, Jiro Toshima and Michihiro Mutoh

The association of nuclear abnormalities in exfoliated buccal epithelial cells with the health status of different agricultural activities farmers in Peninsular Malaysia

Pesticide exposure possesses risk of genotoxicity to humans, particularly farmers. Despite accumulating evidences linking genotoxicity to pesticide exposure, epidemiological studies to address pesticide toxici...

Authors: Zariyantey Abdul Hamid, Mohd Faizal Mohd Zulkifly, Asmah Hamid, Syarif Husin Lubis, Nihayah Mohammad, Ismarulyusda Ishak, Nur Zakiah Mohd Saat, Hidayatul Fathi Othman, Ahmad Rohi Ghazali, Mohd Jamil Mohd Rafaai, Mohamad Roff Mohd Noor and Nor Fadilah Rajab

Mitochondrial complex I and V gene polymorphisms in type II diabetes mellitus among high risk Mizo-Mongoloid population, Northeast India

The study was carried out to identify the polymorphisms in mitochondrial genes (ATPase and ND1) in type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) from Mizo population and to correlate the involvement of demographic factors.

Authors: Freda Lalrohlui, Sunaina Thapa, Souvik Ghatak, John Zohmingthanga and Nachimuthu Senthil Kumar

Arsenic and smokeless tobacco induce genotoxicity, sperm abnormality as well as oxidative stress in mice in vivo

Arsenic, a naturally occurring metalloid is a well-known water contaminant which causes a wide range of serious adverse health effects including cancer upon long-term exposure. Recent studies have shown high a...

Authors: Samrat Das, Puja Upadhaya and Sarbani Giri

Modified Ames test using a strain expressing human sulfotransferase 1C2 to assess the mutagenicity of methyleugenol

Several alkenylbenzenes, including methyleugenol (ME), are present in a wide range of botanicals and exhibit carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Negative results are generally obtained for alkenylbenzenes i...

Authors: Hiroshi Honda, Kazuyuki Minegawa, Yurika Fujita, Noriko Yamaguchi, Yoshihiro Oguma, Hansruedi Glatt, Naohiro Nishiyama and Toshio Kasamatsu

Smoking: additional burden on aging and death

Tobacco smoking is a major cause of lung cancer. It has been suggested that there is an approximately linear dose–response relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and clinical outcome such...

Authors: Masahiko Watanabe

The strains recommended for use in the bacterial reverse mutation test (OECD guideline 471) can be certified as non-genetically modified organisms

The bacterial reverse mutation test, commonly called Ames test, is used worldwide. In Japan, the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are regulated under the Cartagena Domestic Law, and organisms obtained by ...

Authors: Kei-ichi Sugiyama, Masami Yamada, Takumi Awogi and Atsushi Hakura

Long-range transport of mutagens and other air pollutants from mainland East Asia to western Japan

Asian dust events, transport of dust particles from arid and semi-arid areas in China and Mongolia to the east by prevailing westerlies, are often observed in Japan in spring. In recent decades, consumption of...

Authors: Souleymane Coulibaly, Hiroki Minami, Maho Abe, Tomohiro Hasei, Tadashi Oro, Kunihiro Funasaka, Daichi Asakawa, Masanari Watanabe, Naoko Honda, Keiji Wakabayashi and Tetsushi Watanabe

Genomic integration of lambda EG10 transgene in gpt delta transgenic rodents

Transgenic gpt delta mouse and rat models were developed to perform gpt and Spi⁻ assays for in vivo mutagenicity tests. The animals were established by integration of lambda EG10 phage DNA as a transgene into the...

Authors: Kenichi Masumura, Yasuteru Sakamoto, Wakako Kumita, Masamitsu Honma, Akiyoshi Nishikawa and Takehiko Nohmi