The April 2014, Vol. 138, Issue 2 of Toxicological Sciences is now available online. To have the email Table of Contents (eTOC) alerts delivered to you as well as Advance Access notification of the latest papers and research in Toxicological Sciences as soon as they are accepted and posted to the website, please register online.
The paper selected for the Editor's Highlight in this issue is PCB 136 Atropselectively Alters Morphometric and Functional Parameters of Neuronal Connectivity in Cultured Rat Hippocampal Neurons via Ryanodine Receptor-Dependent Mechanisms by Dongren Yang, Izabela Kania-Korwel, Atefeh Ghogha, Hao Chen, Marianna Stamou, Diptiman D. Bose, Isaac N. Pessah, Hans-Joachim Lehmler, and Pamela J. Lein. The Editor's Highlight notes that "Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been banned since 1977 in the US. With over 200 different congeners based on the multiple positions for chlorination, PCBs exhibit a wide range of health effects. Some of the congeners that appear to be more persistent in human tissues are chiral. As if having over 200 different combinations of chlorination wasn’t sufficiently complex, these chiral congeners, termed atropisomers, display unique neuronal effects. As shown by Yang and coworkers, one such atropisomer, (-)PCB 136 (2,2’, 3,3’, 6,6’, hexachlorobiphenyl), promotes dendritic arborization in hippocampal neurons, while its (+) atropisomer does not. These actions appear to be mediated by the ryanodine receptor. The atropisomer-selective effects add a new layer of complexity to our understanding of PCB congeners and their effects on the brain. Given the past widespread use of these compounds, their ability to persist in human tissue, and the demonstrable effects on neuronal function, it would be wise to further examine the effects of PCBs in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases."
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