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Article: Investigators at National Institutes of Health target biological chemistry.
- Article from:
- Chemicals & Chemistry
- Article date:
- November 13, 2009
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According to recent research from the United States, "The transition metal cadmium is an environmental teratogen. In addition, cadmium and retinoic acid can act synergistically to induce forelimb malformations."
"The molecular mechanism underlying the teratogenicity of cadmium and the synergistic effect with retinoic acid has not been addressed. An evolutionarily conserved gene, beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase (BCMO), which is involved in retinoic acid biosynthesis, was studied in both Caenorhabditis elegans and murine Hepa 1-6 cells. In C. elegans, bcmo-1 was expressed in the intestine and was cadmium inducible. Similarly, in Hepa 1-6 cells, Bcmo1 was ...