Agent orange attacks the mitochondria

Found on PysOrg on Sunday, 16 December 2007
Browse Science

Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the process by which the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks the cellular machinery, disrupts normal cellular function and ultimately promotes tumor progression.

The team identified for the first time that mitochondria, the cellular sub-units that convert oxygen and nutrients into cellular fuel, are the target of tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, or TCDD. The study showed that TCDD induces mitochondria-to-nucleus stress signaling, which in turn induces the expression of cell nucleus genes associated with tumor promotion and metastasis.

TCDD is the most toxic compound in the dioxin family. Formed as a by-product during waste incineration, paper, chemical and pesticide manufacturing, it was the toxic ingredient in Agent Orange and closed the Love Canal in Niagara Falls. The public health impact of dioxin, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, compares to that of the pesticide DDT.

Somehow I doubt that all those Vietnam veterans will profit from this reasearch, even though the military told them that agent orange is as harmless as orange juice.