Anthropogenic as well as naturally occurring contaminants are present in our environment, for example mycotoxins and pesticides are typical food contaminants, metals and pesticides are common polluters of water and sediment. To determine the potential hazards of the individual compounds and mixtures and evaluate their toxicity different types of tests have been developed. In recent years advances in the use of in vitro cellular systems made it possible to characterise events at one of the earliest levels of molecular responses: gene expression. This research project uses E. coli and a human liver cell based stress gene profiling assays to determine the effect of chemicals and mixtures thereof on stress gene activation. The stress promoters used in these assays control transcription of genes involved in stress-related processes such as DNA damage, oxidative stress, osmotic stress, protein perturbation and tumour induction.
tissue culture
