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Abbreviations
AhR
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor
ARNT
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator
CAR
Constitutive androstane receptor
CPT1 and CPT2 Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I and II
CVD
Cardiovascular disease
IARC
International Agency for Research on Cancer
LDL
Low-density lipoproteins
LEPR
Leptin receptor
MRC
Complexes mitochondrial respiratory chain complex
mtFA
Mitochondrial transcription factor A
OXPHOS
Oxidative phosphorylation
PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyls
PON1
Paraoxonase 1
POP
Persistent organic pollutants
RRAD
Ras-related associated with diabetes
TC
Total cholesterol
TCDD
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
TG
Triglycerides
Introduction
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in industry since 1929 [1], arising exclusively from anthropogenic origin. The backbone of the chemical structure
is biphenyl hexagonal carbon rings. The carbon atoms share electrons, forming a
couple of hexagonal rings that result in biphenyl which is an “aromatic” compound.
More than 200 possible chemical structures can be formed by adding or removing
the chlorine atoms at different positions of the biphenyl rings. There are more than
200 chemical structures that are labelled as congeners [2].
In Slovakia, inappropriate dumping from the Chemko factory resulted in the
release of PCB containing effluent into the Laborec River, resulting in its sediment
contamination which remains so up till today [3]. Japanese Yushu poisoning in
1968, Yu Chen incident in Taiwan [4, 5] and a PCB/dioxin incident in Belgium 1999
are a few of the other known examples of such poisonings [6, 7], causing the great
number of human casualties. Dioxin is a component of an Agent Orange, which was
used during the Vietnam War. In 1976 a catastrophic Seveso tragedy in Italy, a massive quantity of dioxin was released in the environment resulting in several industrial accidents [8]. PCBs can be subdivided into groups either of the degree of
chlorination or number of chlorine atoms in a biphenyl molecule, i.e. three chlorines
(trichloro) and four chlorines (tetrachloro) [9].
W. Hassan et al.
Abbreviations
AhR
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor
ARNT
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator
CAR
Constitutive androstane receptor
CPT1 and CPT2 Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I and II
CVD
Cardiovascular disease
IARC
International Agency for Research on Cancer
LDL
Low-density lipoproteins
LEPR
Leptin receptor
MRC
Complexes mitochondrial respiratory chain complex
mtFA
Mitochondrial transcription factor A
OXPHOS
Oxidative phosphorylation
PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyls
PON1
Paraoxonase 1
POP
Persistent organic pollutants
RRAD
Ras-related associated with diabetes
TC
Total cholesterol
TCDD
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
TG
Triglycerides
Introduction
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in industry since 1929 [1], arising exclusively from anthropogenic origin. The backbone of the chemical structure
is biphenyl hexagonal carbon rings. The carbon atoms share electrons, forming a
couple of hexagonal rings that result in biphenyl which is an “aromatic” compound.
More than 200 possible chemical structures can be formed by adding or removing
the chlorine atoms at different positions of the biphenyl rings. There are more than
200 chemical structures that are labelled as congeners [2].
In Slovakia, inappropriate dumping from the Chemko factory resulted in the
release of PCB containing effluent into the Laborec River, resulting in its sediment
contamination which remains so up till today [3]. Japanese Yushu poisoning in
1968, Yu Chen incident in Taiwan [4, 5] and a PCB/dioxin incident in Belgium 1999
are a few of the other known examples of such poisonings [6, 7], causing the great
number of human casualties. Dioxin is a component of an Agent Orange, which was
used during the Vietnam War. In 1976 a catastrophic Seveso tragedy in Italy, a massive quantity of dioxin was released in the environment resulting in several industrial accidents [8]. PCBs can be subdivided into groups either of the degree of
chlorination or number of chlorine atoms in a biphenyl molecule, i.e. three chlorines
(trichloro) and four chlorines (tetrachloro) [9].
W. Hassan et al.