Johan Högberg

Johan Högberg

Professor Emeritus/Emerita
Telephone: +46852487783
Visiting address: Nobels väg 13, 17177 Stockholm
Postal address: C6 Institutet för miljömedicin, C6 Biokemisk toxikologi Stenius, 171 77 Stockholm

Research

  • *Occupational toxicology and risk assessment*
    Johan Högberg is chairman for the Swedish Criteria Group which produces risk
    assessment documents used for setting legally binding occupational exposure
    limits in Sweden.
    Current projects involve the development of sensitive endpoints in the
    p53/Mdm2 network for certain types of DNA damages and for mixtures of
    compounds and mixtures of tumor initiators and tumor promoters such as TCDD
    and PCBs. We also study rapid changes in the Akt signaling pathway and how
    knowledge about this pathway can be utilized for the development of cancer
    preventive strategies in e.g. the prostate.
    In international collaboration we develop methods for integrated risk
    assessment and risk assessment of complex mixtures. Ongoing projects involve
    an analysis of cancer deaths classified as work related. Our question is how
    often these cancers can be attributed to a single chemical or to a complex
    mixture of chemicals. We also develop simplified models for rapid screening
    of risks associated with the use of chemicals.
    *Financing*
    * Arbetslivsinstitutet
    * EUs 6:e ramprogram (INTARESE)
    * EUs 6:e ramprogram (ATHON)
    * AFA
    * FAS
    * FORMAS
    *Research group*
    * Ilona Silins, Assistant Professor
    * Lauy Al-Anati, Postdoc
    * Erica Miraglia, Postdoc
    *Five selected publications*
    *Högberg J, Hanberg A, Berglund M, Skerfving S, Remberger M, Calafat AM,
    Filipsson AF, Jansson B, Johansson N, Appelgren M, Håkansson H.*
    Phthalate diesters and their metabolites in human breast milk, blood or
    serum, and urine as biomarkers of exposure in vulnerable populations.
    Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Mar;116(3):334-9
    *Mistafa O, Högberg J, Stenius U.*
    Statins and ATP regulate nuclear pAkt via the P2X7 purinergic receptor in
    epithelial cells.
    Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008 Jan 4;365(1):131-6. Epub 2007 Oct 31.
    *Malmlöf M, Roudier R, Högberg J, Stenius U*
    MEK-ERK-mediated phosphorylation of Mdm2 at Ser 166 in hepatocytes; Mdm2 is
    activated in response to inhibited Akt signaling
    J Biol Chem. 2007 Jan 26;282(4):2288-96
    *Pääjärvi G, Viluksela M, Pohjanvirta R, Stenius U and Högberg J. (2005)*
    TCDD modulates Mdm2 expression and alters the p53 response to DNA damage.
    Carcinogenesis, 26, 201-208.
    *Malmlöf M, Pääjärvi G, Högberg J and Stenius U. (2008)*
    Mdm2 as a sensitive and mechanistically informative marker for genotoxicity
    induced by benzo[a]pyrene and dibenzo[a, l]pyrene.
    Toxicological Sciences, 102, 232-240.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
    Men have higher cancer incidences than women. Lifetime risk for men is 50% and for women 30% and an incidence quote of 1.8 for men/women has been shown for cancer in non-sex organs. Calculations suggest that a third of all cancer cases should be possible to eliminate if causes were known and could be eliminated. Further support for differences is that men have worse survival statistics and that boys have worse cancer prognosis. We have found that skin carcinogens inactivate androgen receptor (AR) in human stem cells. In the present project we will study if carcinogen-induced inactivation of androgen receptor (AR) in human stem cells can explain men’s susceptibility to cancer, and in particular the high incidence for older men. We will 1) investigate how environmental carcinogens inactivate AR, 2) analyze the consequences of AR inactivation concerning DNA damage and repair, 3) study if carcinogens interact with age-dependent decline in testosterone levels and increase DNA damage and mutation burden, and 4) analyze differences in tumor-specific mutational burden between genders. Our study will hopefully explain a major risk factor behind melanoma and perhaps also men´s cancer susceptibility for several other tumors. Our study may also suggest tools to decrease men´s cancer incidence, as well as the total cancer incidence, via a development of new risk assessment strategies.
  • Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2021

Employments

  • Professor Emeritus/Emerita, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2025-2028
  • Professor, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2021-2025

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 1978

News from KI

Events from KI