Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Environmental Toxicology Essay

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Environmental Toxicology - Essay Example According to studies it has been found that certain POPs such as chlordane, toxaphene and mirex have the ability to induce hepatotoxicity-related genes. These genes were induced in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line and were evaluated by using microarray and gene ontology studies. It was observed that certain pathways which were associated with hepatotoxicity such as metabolism of xenobiotics by apoptosis complement and coagulation cascades and cell cycle regulation, were up-regulated or down-regulated by POPs. POPs have the ability to express different genes and also help in understanding the hepatotoxic mechanism of POPs (Choi, Song, Lee, & Ryu, 2013). POPs are an important aspect of environmental toxicology and have been increasingly associated with increased risk of cancer and tumor pathogenesis. POPs belong to environmental endocrine disruptors or are an important part of aquatic ecosystem. It has been difficult to assess the toxinogenomic effects of POPs however an important mechanism is by their action on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway in the fish. Through this pathway they induce cytosolic complex formation, translocation of the receptor and induction of the CYP1A (Zhou, et al., 2010). These effects are a step forward in understanding the toxicology of the POPs, however, stll further research is required in this challenging aspect of the POP mechanism. Zhou, H., Wu, H., Liao, C., Diao, X., Zhen, J., Chen, L., & Xue, Q. (January 01, 2010). Toxicology mechanism of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in fish through AhR pathway.  Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods,  20,  6,