Solange Costa

National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge

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João Paulo Teixeira

Universidade do Porto

102

Carla Costa

Universidade do Porto

Blanca Laffón

Universidade da Coruña

Vanessa Valdiglesias

Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña

Eduardo Pásaro

Universidade da Coruña

Patrícia Coelho

University of Edinburgh

Susana Silva

Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Andrew Collins

University of Oslo

Filipa Esteves

National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge

Stefano Bonassi

IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele

Cooperative Institutions

Universidade do Porto

National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge

University of Aveiro

University of Lisbon

Universidade Nova de Lisboa

i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto

Universidade da Coruña

Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico

Universidade de São Paulo

Rede de Química e Tecnologia

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Measuring DNA modifications with the comet assay: a compendium of protocols

Nature Protocols (2023)

Andrew Collins Peter Møller Goran Gajski Soňa Vodenková Abdulhadi Abdulwahed

Comet Assay

10.1038/s41596-022-00754-y

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Citations (193)

(Bio)monitoring Wildland Firefighters' Occupational Exposure

Toxicology Letters (2021)

Filipa Esteves Joana Madureira João Paulo Teixeira Solange Costa

10.1016/s0378-4274(21)00589-0

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Citations (0)

The comet assay in animal models: From bugs to whales – (Part 1 Invertebrates)

Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research (2019)

Goran Gajski Bojana Žegura Carina Ladeira Bertrand Pourrut Cristian Del Bo’

Comet Assay

Marine invertebrates

Model Organism

Biota

10.1016/j.mrrev.2019.02.003

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Citations (98)

Wood smoke exposure of Portuguese wildland firefighters: DNA and oxidative damage evaluation

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health (2017)

Ana Abreu Carla Costa Susana Pinho e Silva Simone Morais Maria do Carmo Pereira

Portugal is among the European Union countries most devastated by forest fires each year. In the last three decades, more than 3.8 million hectares of forest were burned. Wildland firefighters are exposed to a variety of hazards, including many toxic combustion products that may lead to deleterious health effects. Epidemiological studies showed a positive association between firefighting and several chronic diseases, including cancer. Results from biomonitoring studies in firefighters, particularly concerning genotoxicity evaluation, constitute a valuable tool for investigating important occupational hazards. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess genotoxicity in a group of wildland firefighters using the comet assay for DNA damage and oxidative stress. Both parameters were increased in firefighters compared to controls, but significance was only found for basal DNA damage. No significant influence was found regarding major confounding variables on the genotoxic endpoints studied, with the exception of age. Data obtained provide preliminary information on human health effects of wildland firefighting exposure at genetic and molecular levels. These findings may also provide new important data to serve as public awareness to the potential adverse health risks involving wildland firefighting. Implementation of security and hygiene measures in this sector as well as good practices campaigns may be crucial to decrease risk.

Comet Assay

10.1080/15287394.2017.1286896

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Recent genetic damage in a pesticide-exposed population: Comet assay and micronuclei in reticulocytes

Toxicology Letters (2010)

Carla Costa S. Silva Patrícia Coelho Solange Costa Joana Neves

Comet Assay

10.1016/j.toxlet.2010.03.1019

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Citations (0)

The cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay in human populations exposed to styrene: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research (2016)

Solange Costa Marcello Ceppi Carla Costa Susana Silva Cristiana Pereira

10.1016/j.mrrev.2016.06.003

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Citations (12)

Chromosome Instability in Asthma an Antioxidant Treatment as a Possible Pharmacological Strategy?

Cláudia Oliveira Maria Renata Sales Nogueira Costa Telma Barbosa Cármen Lúcia Cardoso João Neves

Asthma is a disease with multiple phenotypes and different degrees of severity. Severe inflammation appears when oxidative stress (OS) overwhelms the antioxidant defense. Knowing the role of OS in the increase of chromosome instability (CI) and, consequently, in cancer predisposition, it is important to carry out studies to establish limits for OS harmful effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate OS-related CI in asthma patients and the possible protective effect of antioxidants. For that purpose, spontaneous and OS-induced lymphocyte cultures from patients with mild and severe asthma, and from normal controls, were performed. Antioxidant-enriched cultures from severe patients were posteriorly performed. A hundred metaphases per culture were scored in order to estimate the frequency of CI. Our results showed that lymphocytes from severe patients had increased CI, both in spontaneous and OS-induced cultures. However, in lymphocytes from mild patients there were no differences compared to controls. This suggests that in patients subjected to extreme OS conditions, a genotoxic effect may occur at the cellular level. When lymphocytes from these patients were treated with antioxidants, a decrease in CI was observed. Understanding how CI correlates to asthma patients' clinical situation may be pivotal to the design of future preventive measures.

Chromosome instability

10.3390/cahd2020-08577

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Applicability of EU(7)-PIM criteria in cross-national studies in European countries

Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety (2019)

Daniela Fialová Jovana Brkić Blanca Laffón Jindra Reissigová Silvia Grešáková

The European Union (EU)(7)-PIM (potentially inappropriate medication) list presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date tool for evaluation of PIM prescribing in Europe; however, several country-specific studies have documented lower specificity of this list on pharmaceutical markets of some countries. The aim of our study was to describe approval rates and marketing of PIMs stated by EU(7)-PIM criteria in six EU countries [in comparison with the American Geriatric Society (AGS) Beers 2015 criteria].Research teams of six EU countries (Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Hungary and Turkey) participated in this study conducted by WG1b EU COST Action IS1402 group in the period October 2015-November 2018. Data on approval rates of PIMs and their availability on pharmaceutical markets have been obtained from databases of national drug-regulatory institutes and up-to-date drug compendia. The EU(7)-PIM list and AGS Beers 2015 Criteria (Section 1) were applied.PIMs from EU(7)-PIM list were approved for clinical use more often than those from the AGS Beers 2015 criteria (Section 1). Approval rates for EU(7)-PIMs ranged from 42.8% in Serbia to 71.4% in Spain (for AGS criteria only from 36.4% to 65.1%, respectively). Higher percentages of approved PIMs were documented in Spain (71.4%), Portugal (67.1%) and Turkey (67.5%), lower in Hungary (55.5%), Czech Republic (50.2%) and Serbia (42.8%). The majority of approved PIMs were also currently marketed in all countries except in Turkey (19.8-21.7% not marketed PIMs) and less than 20% of PIMs were available as over-the-counter medications (except in Turkey, 46.4-48.1%).The EU(7)-PIM list was created for utilization in European studies; however, applicability of this list is still limited in some countries, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe. The EU project EUROAGEISM H2020 (2017-2021) that focuses on PIM prescribing and regulatory measures in Central and Eastern European countries must consider these limits.

Eu countries

10.1177/2042098619854014

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Citations (18)

Exploring Early Detection of Frailty Syndrome in Older Adults: Evaluation of Oxi-Immune Markers, Clinical Parameters and Modifiable Risk Factors

Antioxidants (2021)

A. Gomes Blanca Laffón Vanessa Valdiglesias Johanna M. Gostner Thomas K. Felder

Ageing is accompanied with a decline in several physiological systems. Frailty is an age-related syndrome correlated to the loss of homeostasis and increased vulnerability to stressors, which is associated with increase in the risk of disability, comorbidity, hospitalisation, and death in older adults. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between frailty syndrome, immune activation, and oxidative stress. Serum concentrations of vitamins A and E were also evaluated, as well as inflammatory biomarkers (CRP and IL-6) and oxidative DNA levels. A group of Portuguese older adults (≥65 years old) was engaged in this study and classified according to Fried's frailty phenotype. Significant increases in the inflammatory mediators (CRP and IL-6), neopterin levels, kynurenine to tryptophan ratio (Kyn/Trp), and phenylalanine to tyrosine ratio (Phe/Tyr), and significant decreases in Trp and Tyr concentrations were observed in the presence of frailty. IL-6, neopterin, and Kyn/Trp showed potential as predictable biomarkers of frailty syndrome. Several clinical parameters such as nutrition, dependency scales, and polypharmacy were related to frailty and, consequently, may influence the associations observed. Results obtained show a progressive immune activation and production of pro-inflammatory molecules in the presence of frailty, agreeing with the inflammageing model. Future research should include different dimensions of frailty, including psychological, social, biological, and environmental factors.

Neopterin

Frailty syndrome

10.3390/antiox10121975

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Citations (12)

An ECVAG inter-laboratory validation study of the comet assay: inter-laboratory and intra-laboratory variations of DNA strand breaks and FPG-sensitive sites in human mononuclear cells

Mutagenesis (2013)

Clara Ersson Peter Møller Lykke Forchhammer Steffen Loft Amaya Azqueta

The alkaline comet assay is an established, sensitive method extensively used in biomonitoring studies. This method can be modified to measure a range of different types of DNA damage. However, considerable differences in the protocols used by different research groups affect the inter-laboratory comparisons of results. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-laboratory, intra-laboratory, sample and residual (unexplained) variations in DNA strand breaks and formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (FPG)-sensitive sites measured by the comet assay by using a balanced Latin square design. Fourteen participating laboratories used their own comet assay protocols to measure the level of DNA strand breaks and FPG-sensitive sites in coded samples containing peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the level of DNA strand breaks in coded calibration curve samples (cells exposed to different doses of ionising radiation) on three different days of analysis. Eleven laboratories found dose–response relationships in the coded calibration curve samples on two or three days of analysis, whereas three laboratories had technical problems in their assay. In the coded calibration curve samples, the dose of ionising radiation, inter-laboratory variation, intra-laboratory variation and residual variation contributed to 60.9, 19.4, 0.1 and 19.5%, respectively, of the total variation. In the coded PBMC samples, the inter-laboratory variation explained the largest fraction of the overall variation of DNA strand breaks (79.2%) and the residual variation (19.9%) was much larger than the intra-laboratory (0.3%) and inter-subject (0.5%) variation. The same partitioning of the overall variation of FPG-sensitive sites in the PBMC samples indicated that the inter-laboratory variation was the strongest contributor (56.7%), whereas the residual (42.9%), intra-laboratory (0.2%) and inter-subject (0.3%) variations again contributed less to the overall variation. The results suggest that the variation in DNA damage, measured by comet assay, in PBMC from healthy subjects is assay variation rather than variation between subjects.

Comet Assay

Coefficient of variation

10.1093/mutage/get001

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Citations (84)