Contaminated Site Clean-Up Information (CLU-IN): Internet Seminar Video Archives

The NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) presents the first session in the Risk e-Learning series, The Interplay Between Environmental Exposures and Infectious Agents. The seminar series examines the interactions between environmental exposures and infectious agents in the development of disease. The series will highlight researchers from around the country who are doing innovative research to better understand this relationship between environmental exposures, infectious agents, and immune response. This session will introduce the topic and provide examples illustrating the interplay between environmental exposures and infectious agents. Karl Western, M.D., from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will set the stage by providing an introduction on pathogens, immune response, and the environment from the perspective of the NIAID. The establishment of the EPA in 1970 resulted in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) losing much of its mission in infection and the environment. The scientific community is now in the midst of the Genomics and Informatics Revolution which has led to the appreciation that most new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses that are influenced by animal reservoirs and vectors that are affected by their environment. NIAID is increasingly engaged in an effort to predict the next epidemic disease and to deal with it before it impacts heavily on human populations. In order to be successful in this effort, NIAID needs to strengthen or establish working relationships with veterinary, agricultural, and environmental research partners. Rita Loch-Caruso, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Michigan and project leader for the Northeastern University SRP Center, will discuss her work related to toxicant-microbial interactions in infection of human extraplacental membranes. Toxicant-microbial interactions in pregnancy are poorly understood. Her study evaluated the potential for S-(1,2-dichlorovinyl)-l-cysteine (DCVC), a carcinogenic metabolite of trichloroethylene (TCE), to modify host defense responses of gestational tissues to Group B Streptococcus, a leading cause of adverse pregnancy outcomes. They found that DCVC decreased pathogen-stimulated release of mediators important for host defense against infectious microorganisms in extraplacental membranes. José Cordero, M.D., who is also a part of the Northeastern SRP Center, will also briefly introduce their ongoing work on the Zika virus in Puerto Rico, including research on whether exposures to environmental chemicals can have the unintentional effect of amplifying risks of Zika during pregnancy. Thomas Kensler, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, will then discuss his research on the relationship between aflatoxins and hepatitis B in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC, the most common form of liver cancer, is among the leading causes of cancer death in most parts of the economically developing world. Several cohort studies have examined the interaction of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and aflatoxin as independent and interactive risk factors for liver cancer and strongly support a causal relationship between the presence of chemical and viral-specific biomarkers and the risk of HCC. However, the underlying mechanisms driving this multiplicative interaction have not been resolved fully. To view this archive online or download the slides associated with this seminar, please visit http://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/SRPInterplay1_101716/