Christa Schroeter-Kermani

• Federal Environmental Agency

In recent years, exposure to parabens has become more of a concern because of evidence of ubiquitous exposure in the general population, combined with evidence of their potency as endocrine disruptors. New human metabolism data from oral exposure experiments enable us to back calculate daily paraben intakes from urinary paraben levels. We report da...

The broadband herbicide glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl]-glycine) and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) were analyzed by GC-MS-MS in 24 h-urine samples cryo-archived by the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). Samples collected in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 were chosen for this retrospecti...

The main objective of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) is the long-term storage of environmental and human samples under stable deep-freeze conditions for future research. The ESB is unique in providing a continuous historical record of environmental and human exposure to chemicals in Germany. ESB was started parallel to the development...

Bioaccumulation, the accumulation of a chemical in an organism relative to its level in the ambient medium, is of major environmental concern. Thus, monitoring chemical concentrations in biota are widely and increasingly used for assessing the chemical status of aquatic ecosystems. In this paper, various scientific and regulatory aspects of bioaccu...

Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care and consumer products, food and pharmaceuticals. Due to their ubiquity, humans are constantly exposed to these chemicals. We assessed exposure to nine parabens (methyl-, ethyl-, n- and iso-propyl-, n- and iso-butyl-, benzyl-, pentyl- and heptyl paraben) in the German populatio...

Technical progress has simplified tasks in lab diagnosis and improved quality of test results. Errors occurring during the pre-analytical phase have more negative impact on the quality of test results than errors encountered during the total analytical process. Different infrastructures of sampling sites can highly influence the quality of samples...

Kongressbeitrag Einführung: Für die Umweltprobenbank des Bundes (UPB) werden regelmäßig Humanproben gesammelt, auf Schadstoffe untersucht und für weitere Analysen kryo-archiviert. Zudem werden in den Proben verschiedene physiologische Parameter bestimmt. Mittels statistischer Analyse wurde die Bedeutung diese Parameter für die Bewertung zeitlicher...

A retrospective monitoring of triclosan (TCS; period 1994-2003 and 2008) and its potential transformation product methyl-triclosan (MTCS; period 1994-2008) was performed using archived fish samples from German rivers (16 sites, including Elbe and Rhine). At four of these sites suspended particulate matter (SPM) was also investigated covering the pe...

For more than 50 years perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have found worldwide industrial and household uses. Some PFASs are presumed to be persistent and bioaccumulative. Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are thought to be a suitable bioindicator for the accumulation of organic xenobiotics. Due to the ubiquitous nature of PFASs in the environment a re...

Human exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) is omnipresent. Both the extent of the exposure and its toxicological relevance are controversially discussed. We aim to reliably determine and evaluate the extent of BPA body burden in the German population from 1995 to 2009 based on 600 24 h urine samples and corresponding plasma samples from the Environmental...

Background Polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], perfluorinated compounds, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs] were retrospectively analyzed in archived herring gull (Larus argentatus) eggs from the North and the Baltic Sea over the last 20 years. The aim was to assess temporal trends and effects of regulatory measures. Results PCBs (sum of 7 c...

Production of chemicals, use of products and consumer goods, contamination of food as well as today's living conditions are related to a substantial exposure of humans to chemicals. Safety of human beings and the environment has to be safeguarded by producers and government. Human biomonitoring (HBM) has proven to be a useful and powerful tool to c...

Levels of α-, β-, and γ-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were determined in pooled eggs from herring gulls (Larus argentatus) sampled on three bird sanctuaries near the German North Sea coast between 1988 and 2008 (Mellum and Trischen) and the German Baltic Sea coast between 1998 and 2008 (Heuwiese) and archived by the German Environmental Specimen Ba...

Although perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) were used for many applications since the 1950s only in recent years their environmental relevance became apparent. Meanwhile the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic potential of several PFCs has been proven. A retrospective monitoring was performed to assess concentration trends of PFCs in marine biota fr...

As one component of the German ecological environment observation, the Environmental Specimen Bank program was initiated in the mid-1980s. Under the program, representative specimens of marine, fresh water, and terrestrial ecosystems are sampled regularly and archived under chemically stable conditions. An initial characterization of the samples pr...

Background, aim, and scope Organotin compounds are used as biocides, plastic additives and catalysts. With respect to environmental effects, tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) compounds are the most relevant, because of their high aquatic toxicity and endocrine effects on mussels and snails. TBT was mainly used as antifouling agents in coatin...

Malachite green is a widely used triphenylmethane dye for coloring synthetic fibers, silk, leather and paper. Although it is additionally an effective veterinary drug for the treatment of various fish diseases, it may not be applied to fish intended for human consumption. Due to indications from laboratory studies the European Food Safety Authority...

The quantification of connective tissue components in small tissue samples is of great importance for the examination of drug-induced changes in the development of the mammalian embryo. An inhibition-ELISA for the quantification of collagens type I and type II in CNBr-digested tissue samples was developed. Fragments of type I collagen were produced...

Goal, Scope and Background The European Water Framework Directive implies a risk based sediment management. In this approach, sediments are recognised as secondary sources of contaminants, and suspended particulate matter (SPM) as the carrier. For that reason, the concept of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) includes the establishment of...

In a long-term program polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) as well as dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) were analyzed in the muscle tissue of eels (Anguilla anguilla), bream (Abramis brama), European chub (Leuciscus cephalus) and ide (Leuciscus idus) from the river Elbe and its tributaries Mul...

The German Environmental Specimen Bank for Human Tissues (ESBHum) as part of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) focuses on documenting and assessing trends of human exposure via real-time monitoring of body burden and long-term storage of samples under stable deep freezing conditions (-150 degrees C) for later retrospective analyses. Real...

In Germany, there is a lack of consistent and comparable data for the time dependent behaviour and spatial distribution of dioxin-like and indicator PCB in ambient air, deposition and plants. The aim of this study was to improve the data on PCDD/PCDF, dioxin-like PCB and non dioxin-like PCB in spruce and pine shoots from different locations and yea...

In archived samples from the German environmental specimen bank (ESB) organotin compounds including tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) as well as their potential degradation products were quantified. Muscles of bream (Abramis brama) sampled in the period 1993-2003 from the rivers Rhine, Elbe, Saale, Mulde, Saar, and from Lake Belau (period 19...

In the framework of the German environmental specimen bank one-year old spruce shoots (Picea abies) and pine shoots (Pinus sylvestris) serve as bioindicators for the atmospheric pollution. Sampling is performed in two urbanized areas in western and eastern Germany (Warndt and Duebener Heide, respectively), and in seven different rural locations. Pr...

The polycyclic musk compounds HHCB (Galaxolide) and AHTN (Tonalide) are commonly used as synthetic fragrances in personal care products and household cleaners. These and other synthetic musk fragrances were quantified in different aquatic samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). While HHCB and AHTN were found in almost all samples...

Meadow soils, feeding-stuffs and foodstuffs from the alluvial plain of the river Elbe were analyzed in respect of PCDD/Fs, DL-PCBs and mercury with a view to assessing the consequences of the extreme flood of August 2002. The PCDD/F concentrations in the soils range from 3 to 2100 ng WHO-TEQ/kg dm, and for the DL-PCBs the range was 0.32 to 28 ng WH...

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the localization of collagen types I, III, IV, V, VI and VII as well as the glycoprotein fibronectin in nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth. The slices, after the use of indirect immunofluorescence (incubation with antibodies against these extracellular matrix components), showed a diffuse distributio...

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were analyzed in muscle tissue from eels (Anguilla anguilla), bream (Abramis brama), ide (Leuciscus idus) and European chub (Leuciscus cephalus) from the river Elbe. By means of a statistical model, the data resulting from the chemical analysis was used to determine the r...

A retrospective monitoring of triclosan (TCS) and its potential transformation product methyl-triclosan (MTCS) for the period 1994–2003 was performed using archived fish samples from German rivers (16 sites, including Elbe and Rhine). Samples were analyzed by GC/MS, either directly (MTCS)or after derivatization (TCS).

Breams (Abramis brama) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from freshwater, and common mussels (Mytilus edulis) from marine ecosystems, archived in the German Environmental Specimen Bankwere analyzed for the presence of 4-nonylphenol (NP), 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), and octylphenol monoethoxylate (OP1EO). The...

In archived samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank, organotin compounds including tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) as well as their degradation products were quantified. Biota samples from North Sea and Baltic Sea areas were analyzed by gas chromatography/atomic emission detection-coupling after extraction and Grignard or ethyl...

Inflamed human periodontal and peri-implant (ITI Bonefit) gingival tissues were studied immunohistochemically to evaluate the possible presence of structural differences in the extracellular matrix protein localization. Collagen types I, III, IV, V, VI, and VII and fibronectin showed a similar distribution in these tissues. Data show that morpholog...

Healthy human periodontal and peri-implant (ITI Bonefit) keratinized gingival tissues were studied immunohistochemically to evaluate the possible presence of structural differences in the extracellular matrix protein localization. Collagen types I, III, IV, and VII and fibronectin showed similar distribution in these tissues. Compared to the period...

The role of collagen implant material (CIM) in periodontology is of considerable interest to the clinical dentist because of the capacity of connective tissue (CT) regeneration and partial prevention of epithelial cell migration onto the root surface. The aim of this study was to demonstrate alterations of the CT matrix after the use of CIM in subc...

In high density (organoid or micromass) cultures of prechondrogenic mesenchymal cells from limb buds of 12-day-old mouse embryos typical cartilaginous tissue develops after 3 days. Immunomorphological investigations have shown that it contains the typical components of the cartilaginous matrix, such as collagen type II and cartilage-specific proteo...

The distribution of type-VII collagen, the main molecular component of the anchoring fibrils (AF) attaching the basal lamina (BL, lamina densa of the basement membrane) to the surrounding connective tissue, was investigated in four xenografted human carcinomas of the hypopharynx (H-Stg 1), the lung (L 261), the sigmoid colon (CA 1), and the rectum...

Collagen type VI was demonstrated immunomorphologically in articular cartilage (distal femur) of young (2-8 weeks) and adult mice by fluorescence and electron microscopy (gold-labelled second antibody--sandwich method) using pre- and post-embedding techniques. This collagen type was mainly seen in the vicinity of chondrocytes, and in larger amounts...

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the localization of collagen types I, III, IV, V, VI and VII as well as the glycoprotein fibronectin in nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth. The slices, after the use of indirect immunofluorescence (incubation with antibodies against these extracellular matrix components), showed a diffuse distributio...

An inhibition ELISA was used to quantify the amount of type I collagen synthesized in culture media and cell layers from aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive control, Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Cultured cells were also observed by electron microscopy. Collagen content in the culture media was str...

Immunofluorescence microscopic methods served to demonstrate the production of the following matrix components in cultures of vascular smooth muscle cells from rat aorta: fibronectin; nidogen; heparan sulphate-proteoglycan (HS-PG); laminin; and collagen types I, III, IV, V, and VI. A time-dependence of synthesis and secretion could be shown for a n...

The differentiation of the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) endometrium under different steroid hormone levels was investigated by electron microscopy and by the binding of different antibodies directed against collagen types. Based on differences in the glandular and interglandular compartments, the endometrium of sexually mature common marmosets con...

The fluoroquinolone, ofloxacin, a widely used antimicrobial agent, has been shown to cause athropathogenic syndromes in juvenile animals. In the present study, the effect of ofloxacin on chondrogenesis in cartilage organoid cultures of limb-bud mesenchymal cells obtained from day-12 mouse embryos was investigated. Cultures treated with increasing c...

The distribution of fibronectin (FN) in the healthy, inflamed and hyperplastic human gingiva was investigated by indirect immunofluorescence. FN appeared as a fibrillar structure in the lamina propria of the healthy gingivae. In the inflamed specimens, FN demonstrated parallel fibres, especially in the coronal areas of the tissue. In the phenytoin...

The distribution of collagen types I and III was demonstrated in healthy periodontal tissues of the rat and marmoset using immunofluorescent localization after decalcification of the maxillae and mandiblae in 0.2 N HCl. An intense fluorescence in the alveolar bone and cementum matrix, as well as in the soft periodontal tissue, was demonstrated with...

The matrix of the spiral limbus is obviously a special form of the intercellular substance. In the present study, the rat's spiral limbus was investigated by electron microscopy after fixation with ruthenium red and tannic acid and immunofluorescence to demonstrate matrix components. Collagen types I, II, V, VI, VII, IX and XI and fibronectin were...

Limb bud mesenchymal cells obtained from day-12 mouse embryos were grown at high density on a membrane filter (pore size 0.2 micron) at the medium/air interphase. Chondrogenesis in this so-called cartilage organoid culture was monitored quantitatively by immunological estimation of type I and type II collagen and qualitatively by indirect immunoflu...

The immunohistochemical distribution of collagen types IV, V and VI has been demonstrated in healthy periodontal tissues of rats and marmosets following decalcification of the maxillae and mandibulae in 0.2 N HCl. An intense fluorescence with anti-collagen type IV antibodies was demonstrated in the basement membranes of the epithelium and of the bl...

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the localization of collagen types IV, V and VI as well as the glycoprotein laminin in biopsies of healthy rat, marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and human gingivae. The slices, after the use of indirect immunofluorescence (incubation with antibodies against these extracellular matrix components), showed the...

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the morphology and matrix synthesis of embryonic rat liver cells (day 18 of gestation) in organoid cultures (high density cultures) with electron microscopic and immunomorphological techniques. For this purpose the cells of embryonic rat livers were isolated enzymatically and grown in an organoid culture (hi...

Immunohistochemical knowledge of the distribution of the collagen types in the cementum and periodontal ligament were reported in this paper. Because of the different localization of each of these collagenous components in the two periodontal tissues its function in the matrix was explored. It was also possible to clarify the role of collagen in he...

Corneal wound healing was studied after photoablation with an excimer laser (193 nm, 43 pulses at 180 mJ/cm2 [symbol: see text] 11 microns ablation depth, optical zone 2.0 mm) and with an erbium-YAG laser (2.94 microns, 5 pulses at 2.5 J/cm2 [symbol: see text] 50 microns ablation depth, optical zone 1.6 mm). The corneas of marmosets (Callithrix jac...

The distribution of the collagen types I, III, IV, V, VI and of the glycoprotein laminin have been examined in the healthy gingiva of the marmoset with the indirect immunofluorescence method. It has been shown that collagen type I formed thick fibrils in a wave-like pattern, while collagen type III formed thinner fibrils, especially under the epith...

The distribution of collagen type IV and VI, laminin and nidogen was investigated by immunofluorescence microscopy in the livers of marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) at various stages of development, i.e. on days 93, 111, 116 and 134 of gestation, 1 day postpartum and at the mature stage. Large amounts of collagen type IV could in all cases be demonst...

Immunofluorescence microscopic and electron microscopic investigations revealed components of the matrix and of the basal lamina (collagen type I, III, IV and V, BL-heparan sulfate and fibronectin) in the sinus wall (Disse's space) of the livers of newborn and adult marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Collagen type I was missing in both the two age gro...

The gramicidin S synthetase consists of two enzymes, gramicidin S synthetase 1 (GS1, M//R 100kD) and gramicidin S synthetase 2 (GS2, M//R 280kD), which have to come into contact for the biosynthesis of gramicidin S, a cyclic decapeptide antibiotic. The multienzymes activate the constituent amino acids by the formation of amino acyl adenylates, whic...

Collagen type-specific antibodies as well as antibodies to particular portions of the molecule are extremely useful tools especially for the quantification of collagens and for immunohistochemical examinations in developing embryos. Quantification of collagens in CNBr-solubilized tissue samples presupposes the production of antibodies against CNBr-...

The inhibition constants (KI) of aliphatic and aromatic amide derivatives of phenylalanine and proline for GS1 and GS2 of the enzyme system gramicidin S synthetase were determined. These compounds act as competitive inhibitors. Some of these compounds (spacer/ligand compounds) were reacted with epoxy-activated Sekpharose 6B or with crosslinked poly...

Gramicidin S-synthetase 1 or ATP-dependent phenylalanine racemase (EC 5.1.1.11) is shown to be inactivated by several disulfides, while the corresponding sulfhydryl compounds are either ineffective or less effective. The most potent disulfide tested was cystamine. Its binding to the enzyme does not effect the phenylalanine-dependent ATP-pyrophospha...

substrate- derived inhibitors attached to polymers have been used for biospecific sdsorption of gramicidin s synthetases

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universität Berlin, 1985.