Dioxins/TCDD

More subtle modes of action are also possible since the response to hormone receptor binding is complex and could be affected by chemical interference with receptor-related proteins, DNA methylation or histone acetylation. Dioxin (TCDD), for example, reduces the ability of the oestrogen-receptor complex to bind to the oestrogen response element of DNA, reducing gene transcription. ... 

Chemical Acne Many chemical compounds induce skin lesions that are similar to acne. Oils, tar, creosote, and several cosmetic products induce chemical acne. These compounds induce keratinization of the sebaceous glands of the skin, obstruction of the glands, and formation of acne. Chloracne is a specific skin lesion that is induced by chemical compounds that are structurally similar to 2,5,7,8-tet-rachloro dibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Chloracne is slow to heal and difficult to... 

Organohalogen compounds are of serious concern also as contaminants. The most feared material in this category is dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin, TCDD) that has already caused several catastrophes and has even been detected in effluent and sludge from paper mills that use chlorine bleach and also in... 

Ah-receptor-mediated toxicity is particularly associated with the highly toxic compound 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), commonly referred to as dioxin. TCDD, and the concept of toxicity equivalency factors (TEFs) based on TCDDs, will be dealt with in Chapter 7. The main point to make at this juncture is that the toxicity of each individual coplanar congener in a mixture can be expressed in terms of a toxic equivalent calculated relative to the toxicity of dioxin. Summation of the toxic equivalents of the individual coplanar PCBs gives a measure of the toxicity of the whole mixture, as expressed through the Ah receptor mechanism. 

Chlorinated dibenzo ip-dioxins are contaminants of phenol-based pesticides and may enter the environment where they are subject to the action of sunlight. Rate measurements showed that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is more rapidly photolyzed in methanol than octachlorodi-benzo-p-dioxin. Initially TCDD yields 2,3,7-trichlorodiben-zo-p-dioxin, and subsequent reductive dechlorination is accompanied by ring fission. Pure dibenzo-p-dioxin gave polymeric material and some 2,2 -dihydroxybiphenyl on irradiation. Riboflavin-sensitized photolysis of the potential precursors of dioxins, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,5-trichloro-phenol, in water gave no detectable dioxins. The products identified were chlorinated phenoxyphenols and dihydroxy-biphenyls. In contrast, aqueous alkaline solutions of purified pentachlorophenol gave traces of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on irradiation. 

Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) (I), an occasional contaminant in 2,4,5-T and other trichlorophenol derivatives, is the most toxic of the commonly-encountered dioxins (8) and it received most of our attention. Its low solubility in common solvents and water (ca. 2 ppb) limited our experiments since the products were difficult to identify by the conventional techniques of organic chemistry. However, TCDD has an absorption maximum at 307 nm in methanol—well within the solar spectrum observed at the earth s surface and near the region of maximum intensity (310-330 nm) of the UV lamps used in previous experiments (H 29). 

Figure 1. Mass spectrum of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodihenzO -p-dioxin (TCDD). The molecular ion (M ) is at m/e 320. Ionizing voltage 70 eV, source 150" C. Asterisk denotes impurUy.

An environmental protocol has been developed to assess the significance of newly discovered hazardous substances that might enter soil, water, and the food chain. Using established laboratory procedures and C-labeled 2,3,7,8-tetra-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry, we determined mobility of TCDD by soil TLC in five soils, rate and amount of plant uptake in oats and soybeans, photodecomposition rate and nature of the products, persistence in two soils at 1,10, and 100 ppm, and metabolism rate in soils. We found that TCDD is immobile in soils, not readily taken up by plants, subject to photodecomposition, persistent in soils, and slowly degraded in soils to polar metabolites. Subsequent studies revealed that the environmental contamination by TCDD is extremely small and not detectable in biological samples. 

TAetection of the highly potent impurity, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), necessitated an environmental assessment of the impact of this contaminate. Information was rapidly needed on movement, persistence, and plant uptake to determine whether low concentrations reaching plants, soils, and water posed any threat to man and his environment. Because of the extreme toxicity of TCDD, utmost precautions were taken to reduce or minimize the risk of exposure to laboratory personnel. Synthesis of uniformly labeled C-TCDD by Muelder and Shadoff (I) greatly facilitated TCDD detection in soil and plant experiments. For unlabeled experiments it seemed wise to use only small quantities of diluted solutions in situations where decontamination was feasible and to rely on the sensitivity afforded by electron capture gas chromatography... 

Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a contaminant in 2,4,5- trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) which may occur in the manufacturing process. Before 1971 some samples of 2,4,5-T contained from 2-50 ppm TCDD (i) in the technical acid. Highest concentrations of TCDD occurred before 1968. 

Polychloro-benzenes, polybromo-benzenes, and dioxins (TCDD) are among these compounds. They were discovered when the analysis techniques improved. Especially the development of GC-MS has contributed to the knowledge of the distribution of these compounds. Effects on humans are the development of chloracne, suppression of the immune system, and some compounds are probably carcinogens (Shaw 1993). As a consequence of the ubiquitous nature of PCBs, humans are exposed via many sources. 

Owing to the fact that ethyl ethers are especially effective substrates for CYP1A1 [184], the probe possesses an ethyl group on the phenolic oxygen of the trimethyl lock. In vitro, fluorescence was manifested by CYP1A1 isozyme with Kcat/KM 8.8 x 103 M-1s 1 and KM 0.09 pM. In cellulo, the probe revealed the induction of cytochrome P450 activity by the carcinogen 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodi-benzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and its repression by the chemoprotectant resveratrol. 

Data from NIOSH. 1984. Current Intelligence Bulletin 40 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD,... 

Data from Kociba, R.J. and B.A. Schwetz. 1982b. A review of the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) with a comparison to the toxicity of other chlorinated dioxin isomers. 

Beebe, L.E., L.W. Fomwald, and L.M. Anderson. 1992. Effect of a single oral dose of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorod-ibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on hepatic and extrahepatic cytochrome P-450 IA induction in the Swiss mouse. Chemosphere 25 1141-1145. 

Chapman, D.E. and C.M. Schiller. 1985. Dose-related effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 78 147-157. 

Frakes, R.A., C.Q.T. Zeeman, and B. Mower. 1993. Bioaccumulation of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) by fish downstream of pulp and paper mills in Maine. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safety 25 244-252. 

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