Browsing by Author "Martins, C."
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- 3rd HBM-PT Workshop on Human BioMonitoring in Portugal - earlyMYCO: assessing the risk associated to early-life exposure to mycotoxins: Book of abstractsPublication . Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula; Ferreira, M.; Bastos, P.; Nunes, C.; De Boevre, Marthe; Duarte, E.; Nunes, B.; Namorado, S.; Silva, S.; Pires, S.; Martins, C.Livro de resumos do 3rd HBM-PT Workshop on Human BioMonitoring in Portugal sob o tema “Risk Assessment”, abrangendo trabalhos em torno das seguintes temáticas: Exposição a produtos químicos e efeitos na saúde humana; Influência da mudança do ambiente na exposição humana a produtos químicos; Integração de dados de monitorização humana e ambiental; Tradução dos dados de biomonitorização humana em ações regulamentares sobre saúde humana e ambiental. O evento pretende reunir investigadores, representantes de instituições reguladoras e restantes stakeholders, promovendo o debate sobre a aplicação da biomonitorização humana nas políticas de saúde e ambiente, bem como na avaliação de risco para a saúde e possibilitando a apresentação de resultados, na forma de comunicações orais e/ou e-posters. Este workshop é organizado pela National Hub portuguesa em Biomonitorização Humana, constituída no âmbito do programa europeu conjunto HBM4EU - European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (https://www.hbm4eu.eu/), da qual fazem parte a FCT, a Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, a Direção-Geral da Saúde, o Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, a Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa e a Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa.
- 4th International Conference on Food Contaminants (ICFC) 2021: Challenges on early-life exposure: Book of abstractsPublication . Vasco, E.; Martins, C.; Serrenho, I.; Assunção, R.; Alvito, P.(...) Exposure to hazardous chemicals during first 1000 days of life has been linked to an increased risk of a number of health disorders.There is growing evidence that early-life exposure to chemical hazards can lead to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adulthood including cancer, diabetes, obesity and auto-immune diseases. Because cells are rapidly dividing and organ systems are developing during childhood and adolescence, exposure to carcinogens during these early life stages is a major risk factor for cancer later in life. Exposure during early-life due to food ingestion of toxic chemicals seems to have a critical role on the rapid epidemiological rise of obesity as well as a trans-generational transmission of risk of later obesity. Some reports provide evidence of a link between early-life adverse events (ELAE)-induced intestinal barrier disruption, inflammation, epigenetic modifications, and the occurrence of late metabolic disorders (MD), including obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Changes in neurobehavior, sexual development, the prevalence of asthma and allergy, among others, have shown to be associated with chemical contaminants exposure at early-life stages. Early-life is a critical sensitive window of susceptibility. Therefore, this conference will aim to gather research scientists, health and food professionals, regulatory entities, and students to discuss different perspectives on this particular period of life in order to debate i) the risks associated with exposing vulnerable populations to chemicals, in particular, food contaminants and ii) toxic effects of early-life exposure to chemicals. This conference is promoted within the framework of the earlyMYCO national project, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal, aiming to assess the impact of early-life exposure to mycotoxins and their potential impact on human health. (...)
- Applicability of the harmonized in vitro digestion method to titanium dioxide nanomaterialsPublication . Alvito, Paula; Assunção, Ricardo; Gramacho, A.; Silva, M.J.; Louro, H.; Martins, C.Titanium dioxide nanomaterials (TiO2 NMs) have a high potential for ingestion by human populations, due to their increasing use as food additives, inclusion in dietary supplements and food packaging materials. Whether this oral exposure may lead to adverse local or systemic outcomes, has been the subject of research. In vitro studies have generated contradictory results, possibly due to differences in the physicochemical properties of the TiO2 NMs studied, which can be additionally affected by the surrounding matrix and interactions during digestion. INGESTnano is a national project aimed at investigating the nano-bio interactions of nanomaterials on intestinal cells, at the cellular and molecular levels, after the digestion process, to better understand their potential impacts on human health. Three TiO2 NMs were selected as case-studies to setup a workflow for addressing nanosafety concerns of ingested NMs, while considering the nano-bio interactions under physiological conditions. As an alternative to in vivo testing, this project is focused on the use of the harmonized in vitro digestion method for simulating the human digestion of NMs. This digestion comprises three compartments: a) mouth (pH 7.0, alpha-amylase, salts); b) stomach (pH 3, HCl, pepsin, salts) and c) small intestine (pH 7.5, bile salts, pancreatin, salts). The final product of digestion is tested in bioassays using intestinal cells, to ascertain its toxicity. A high level of toxicity of the final digestion product challenged the applicability of the digestion product in the biological assays. The results revealed that digestion products without the NM showed cytotoxic effects above the concentration of 10% in cell culture medium. Several modifications to the initial protocol were thus performed to overcome this issue. The results suggested that the addition of bile salts accounted for most of the toxicity observed. The applicability of the harmonized in vitro digestion method is discussed in view of its potential use as a tool for addressing the toxicity of ingested NMs or other food contaminants, mimicking the physiological processes, in alternative to animal models.
- Are Portuguese women of childbearing age exposed to environmental mercury? The One Health perspectivePublication . Santiago, S; Namorado, S.; Dias, C.M.; Nascimento, A.; Martins, C.; Santos, M.; Carvalho, C.; Assunção, R.One health, a transdisciplinary approach, recognizes the interconnection between human, animals and their shared environment. Fish and seafood are important sources of high-biological value proteins, omega-3 fatty acids and essential minerals. However, it can contain environmental contaminants, such as mercury compounds. Long-lived predatory fish species, such as tuna or swordfish, are an important human exposure source. Thus, only through a transdisciplinary approach, namely using one health perspective, is it possible to properly tackle the issue of mercury at different levels. Methylmercury, the most toxic mercury form, mainly targets the central nervous system, and the prenatal period represents a period of greatest vulnerability regarding neurodevelopmental effects on the fetus. Portugal has a tradition of high consumption of fishery and aquaculture products, higher than in the European Union (EU) countries and above both EU and world averages. The present research aimed to evaluate the exposure of Portuguese women of childbearing age to mercury through human biomonitoring and to determine mercury contamination in fish available in Portuguese markets. For this study, 300 Portuguese women of childbearing age (25 to 44 years) were randomly selected in a cross-sectional epidemiological study carried out in Portugal (INSEF, http://www.insef.pt/) in 2015. Also, 24 different species of fish and fishery and aquaculture products acquired on the Portuguese market and representative of Portuguese consumption were selected. This study reinforces the need to develop and implement Portugal risk communication strategies focused on selecting fish species with lower mercury levels to protect susceptible populations from exposure to this chemical while simultaneously promoting the important health benefits of fish consumption and applying a One Health approach.
- Burden of osteoporosis and costs associated with human biomonitored cadmium exposure in three European countries: France, Spain and BelgiumPublication . Ougier, E.; Fiore, K.; Rousselle, C.; Assunção, Ricardo; Martins, C.; Buekers, J.Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal widespread in the environment leading to human exposure in particular through diet (when smoking is excluded), as documented by recent human biomonitoring (HBM) surveys. Exposure to Cd at environmental low-exposure levels has been associated with adverse effects such as renal toxicity and more recently bone effects. The implication, even if limited, of Cd in the etiology of osteoporosis can be of high importance at the population level given the significant prevalence of osteoporosis and the ubiquitous and life-long exposure to Cd. Therefore, the osteoporosis cases attributable to Cd exposure was estimated in three European countries (Belgium, France and Spain), based on measured urinary Cd levels from HBM studies conducted in these countries. The targeted population was women over 55 years old, for which risk levels associated with environmental Cd exposure were available. Around 23% of the cases were attributed to Cd exposure. Moreover, in a prospective simulation approach of lifelong urinary Cd concentrations assuming different intakes scenarios, future osteoporosis attributable cases were calculated, based on urinary Cd levels measured in women aged under 55. Between 6 and 34% of the considered populations under 55 years were at risk for osteoporosis. Finally, the costs associated to the burden of osteoporosis-related fractures attributable to Cd for each country targeted in this paper were assessed, standing for a major contributing role of Cd exposure in the overall social costs related to osteoporosis. Absolute costs ranged between 0.12 (low estimate in Belgium) and 2.6 billion Euros (high estimate in France) in women currently over 55 years old and at risk for fractures. Our results support the importance of reducing exposure of the general population to Cd.
- Climate change and aflatoxins exposure in Portugal – could we expect a significant health risk?Publication . Assunção, R.; Martins, C.; Viegas, S.; Viegas, C.; Jakobsen, Lea S.; Pires, S.; Alvito, P.In recent decades, changes in climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems on all continents and across the oceans. Climate change (CC) has become one of the most critical issues for the sustainable development of human societies and the functioning of ecosystems on earth. Portugal is highly vulnerable to CC impacts due to its Europe south-western geographical situation, mainly through decreasing annual precipitation, more intense extreme weather and climate events. In fact, CC is considered as one of the biggest global threats to human health of the 21st century and its effects will undoubtedly influence agricultural systems and food safety. Due to the potential impact on the occurrence of food hazards, increased concern has being aroused. Mycotoxins, natural contaminants produced by fungi, are among the most important of such hazards, especially due to their potential to establish deleterious health conditions. From all known mycotoxins, aflatoxins stand to the most toxic for humans. Dietary aflatoxins exposure is considered a significant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Considering the impact of CC in mycotoxin contamination of food products available in Portugal, the present study aims to discuss the potential influence of CC in the health risk associated to aflatoxins dietary exposure of Portuguese population. To tackle this objective, the estimated number of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the associated burden of disease in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were derived. Results showed that the number of extra cases of HCC associated to Portuguese aflatoxin dietary exposure ranged from 0.52 and 2.00. The derived DALYs ranged between 8.0 and 30.9. It is expected that in the future the number of DALYs and the associated HCC due to aflatoxin exposure should increase due to CC. These results should represent an alert for the potential consequences of an incompletely explored perspective of CC – the health impact of the human exposure to aflatoxins. Politics and decision-makers should be involved and committed to implement effective measures to deal with CC issues and to reduce its possible consequences.
- Detection of cryptic species of Aspergillus with reduced susceptibility to antifungal agents in hospitalsPublication . Sabino, Raquel; Viegas, C.; Veríssimo, C.; Carolino, E.; Brandão, João; Simões, H.; Martins, C.; Clemons, K.V.; Stevens, D.A.Invasive aspergillosis is a fungal infection caused by Aspergillus spp. affecting mainly the immunocompromised. The mortality rate may reach 85%. Aspergillus identification should be based on molecular methods as there are species morphologically similar but distinct at the molecular level (cryptic species), with variable antifungal susceptibility profiles.
- Early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health – a case studyPublication . Alvito, P.; Assunção, R.; Bastos-Amador, P.; de Boevre, M.; Duarte, E.; Martins, C.; Serrenho, i.; Silva, I.; Visintin, L.; Ferreira, M.Considering the potential impact on health and the scarce data available regarding early-life exposure to mycotoxins, earlyMYCO project (early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health) proposed to answer key questions: are pregnant women and infants until six months exposed to mycotoxins? Is this exposure a health threat? Does this early-life exposure influence the intestinal immune system development? Which is the burden derived from the exposure to mycotoxins? The earlyMYCO pilot study enrolled 19 pairs of mother and children, with a loss to follow-up ranging between 11% and 47% for different moments of observation. The mycotoxins’ biomarkers detected were AFB1, OTA, DON and bZEL in urine samples (mother and children), and AFB1, aZEL, FB1, FB2 and FB3 in breast milk samples. Food consumption data revealed that foods consumed more frequently during the week were bread, dairy products, non-alcoholic drinks (tea and coffee), animal products (meat and fish) and pasta. Regarding infants, 22% were fed with infant formula and 78% were exclusively breastfed. Considering the exposure levels, a low risk of mothers’ exposure to the main mycotoxins analyzed is expected, since urine samples did not reveal detectable levels of these compounds; however, infants’ urine samples presented a DON mean value of 14.8 ng/mL (corresponding to 148.0 μg/kg bw/day through reverse dosimetry), which could represent a risk for this population group. Notably, maternal exposure to AFB1 promoted an increase of overall T cell population, while it also resulted in a selective reduction of cytokine-producing innate lymphoid cells group 2 (ILC2) population in intestine of the progeny. These alterations were associated with decreased expression of Reg3b and Reg3g by the intestinal mucosa of progeny. Thus, these results indicate that maternal exposure to mycotoxins impacts the development of offspring intestinal immune system. An in vitro approach using intestinal cell lines Caco-2 and Caco-2/HT29-MTX models exposed to AFB1 during 24h, confirmed the deleterious effects of AFB1 on intestinal membrane integrity and its effect on mucus layer. To assess the impact of AFB1 on early-life microbiota, faeces from litters of AFB1 treated female mice and controls were assessed by metagenomics. Although the overall diversity (Shannon diversity index) of the microbiome wasn’t affected between groups, the microbiome composition varied between AFB1 and control faecal samples (Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index). In particular, some beneficial species were diminished in the litters from AFB1 treated females. Results emphasized the need for assessing the prenatal and lactation exposure to mycotoxins.
- Early-life exposure to mycotoxins: assessing the risk under the earlyMYCO projectPublication . Assunção, R.; Martins, C.; Nunes, Baltazar; Silvia, S.; Pires, S.M.; Alvito, P.Exposure to hazardous chemicals during the first 1000 days of life has been associated to a number of health disorders, e.g. non-communicable diseases. A proper risk assessment built on accurate data assumes particular importance to evaluate the potential impact that early-life exposure could represent in adulthood. Mycotoxins, secondary fungal metabolites, could have harmful effects in humans and animals. Recent studies reported that Portuguese young children are exposed to multiple mycotoxins through food consumption which could constitute a health concern [1]. However, earlier exposure to these compounds remains unexplored. earlyMYCO – Early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health, a national funded project (PTDC/MED-TOX/28762/2017), intends to contribute to clarify this issue evaluating the health effects of early-life exposure of Portuguese mother-and-child pairs to mycotoxins and assessing the associated risk. The associated health risk will be characterized and the health impact assessed combining data from mother-and-child pairs, their exposure to mycotoxins and newly obtained toxicological data. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) will be compared with reference dose values. Preliminary results of exposure to mycotoxins through food consumption (cereal-based foods) in young children (≤ 3 years old) revealed a potential adverse health effect for percentiles of intake of aflatoxins above or equal to P50 (corresponding to 0.041 ng/kg body weight/day or higher). Additionally, results also suggest that high levels of exposure to mycotoxins in the early life are more related with processed foods than with breastmilk. Obtained results will contribute to reach an accurate risk assessment framework and to establish and prioritize preventive measures to reduce exposure to chemicals and risk, especially for vulnerable population groups as pregnant women and infants. [1] R. Assunção, et. al., Food and Chemical Toxicology 118, 399–408 (2018).
- earlyMYCO – a mother & child cohort in Portugal to assess exposure to mycotoxinsPublication . Martins, C.; Assunção, R.; Serrano, D.; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, S.; Alvito, P.; Vidigal, C.; Lamy, E.; Nunes, C.Aim: This study aims for the first time in Portugal to assess the early-life exposure to mycotoxins through a mother & child cohort.