{"title":"Carp (Cyprinus carpio) vitellogenin: characterization of yolk proteins, development of immunoassays and use as biomarker of exposure to environmental estrogens.","authors":"Akihiko Hara, Kaori Hirano, Munetaka Shimizu, Haruhisa Fukada, Toshiaki Fujita, Fuminari Ito, Hideshige Takada, Masaru Nakamura, Taisen Iguchi","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The precursor protein of egg yolk, vitellogenin (Vg), is cleaved into three major components (lipovitellin, phosvitin and beta'-component) at the time of incorporation by growing oocytes. We purified three yolk proteins (YP1, YP2 and YP3) from ovaries of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) by a combined method of ammonium sulfate precipitation and column chromatography. Biochemical analyses of the purified proteins of this species suggest that YP1, YP2 and YP3 are lipovitellin, beta'-component and phosvitin, respectively. A specific antiserum against purified carp YP1 (lipovitellin) was used to develop a single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) technique and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for carp Vg. By SRID and ELISA, we measured the circulating carp Vg level to be in the ranges of 12.5-400 microg/ml and 2.0-1000 ng/ml, respectively, which cover a wide range of Vg levels. From 1997-1998, male and female carp were captured at points of effluent discharge from a sewage treatment plant connected to the Tama River, where estrogenic compounds were later detected, and the presence of Vg in their circulation was examined. Vg was detected in both male and female carp at the mg/ml level, suggesting that estrogens such as estrone and estradiol were sufficiently high to induce Vg in male carp inhabiting this area. The result of this study supports the use of carp Vg as a biomarker of fish exposure to environmental estrogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 2","pages":"95-108"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26790921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Heather J Hamlin, Thea M Edwards, Brandon C Moore, Kevan L Main, Louis J Guillette
{"title":"Stress and its relation to endocrine function in captive female Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri).","authors":"Heather J Hamlin, Thea M Edwards, Brandon C Moore, Kevan L Main, Louis J Guillette","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Stress responses to numerous environmental conditions have been studied in a wide range of fish species. Defining the relationship between stress and endocrine function is particularly critical to long-lived species such as sturgeons, whose economic viability relies heavily on proper endocrine function for the production of caviar. In this study, we examined the induced stress response, defined by plasma cortisol and glucose concentrations, and its relationship to plasma 17beta-estradiol, testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone concentrations in cultured female Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri). Fish were acutely stressed using capture and confinement for a period of 4 h, and blood samples were drawn according to four treatment regimens: treatment 1, fish were bled at 0 h; treatment 2, fish were serially bled at 0 h, 1 h and 4 h; treatment 3, fish were bled at 1 h and 4 h; treatment 4, fish were bled at 4 h only. Fish were surgically sexed immediately after drawing blood at 0 h. After 1 h of acute stress, fish demonstrated a marked increase in plasma cortisol concentration, which remained elevated throughout the 4-h sampling period. The plasma concentration of sex steroids did not exhibit an inverse relationship with plasma cortisol concentration. Plasma testosterone concentration was significantly elevated during the periods of greatest stress. Plasma estradiol and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) concentrations were not affected by the acute stressors in this experiment. Serial bleedings, however, affected the associated stress response, which is an important consideration for future studies with this species. This is the first study to define the relationship between stress and possible changes in sex steroid concentration in this threatened and commercially important species.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 3","pages":"129-39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26823808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of aluminum on nitrate reductase and photosynthetic activities in Quercus serrata seedlings.","authors":"Rie Tomioka, Akiko Uchida, Chisato Takenaka, Takafumi Tezuka","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We investigated the physiological effect of rhizospheric aluminum (Al) on the activities of nitrate reductase and photosynthesis in Quercus serrata seedlings. The seedlings were cultured hydroponically in nutrient solution with or without 1 mM AlCl(3) (pH 4.0) for 14 days. After Al treatment for 3 days, the number of primordia of tertiary lateral roots on secondary lateral roots appeared to increase. As a result, the biomass of the roots significantly increased (by 5%) after Al treatment for 14 days. The uptake of NO(3)(-) by the seedlings from the culture medium was stimulated to 125% by Al treatment for 3 days. Al treatments for 7 and 14 days increased the nitrate reductase activities in the roots to 300% and 170%, respectively. Al treatment had no effect on photosynthetic activity or shoot biomass even after 14 days, although the chlorophyll content was slightly increased by Al treatment. These results suggest that the stimulation of root growth by Al might be closely related to metabolic changes including the increase in nitrate reductase activity in the leaves and roots.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 3","pages":"157-65"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26823811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preliminary ecological risk assessment of butylparaben and benzylparaben -1. Removal efficiency in wastewater treatment, acute/chronic toxicity for aquatic organisms, and effects on medaka gene expression.","authors":"Hiroshi Yamamoto, Mikako Watanabe, Yoshiko Hirata, Yuki Nakamura, Yudai Nakamura, Chise Kitani, Jun Sekizawa, Masaya Uchida, Hiroshi Nakamura, Yoshihiro Kagami, Masaaki Koshio, Narisato Hirai, Norihisa Tatarazako","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Butylparaben and benzylparaben, used as preservatives mainly in cosmetic products, have recently been found to be weakly estrogenic. Batch activated-sludge treatment and batch chlorination were carried out to roughly determine the removal efficiency of a wastewater treatment plant. Combining the removal efficiency with the estimated annual consumption and the unaltered excretion ratio, the maximum predicted environmental concentration (PEC) was estimated. Conventional acute/chronic toxicity tests were conducted using Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), daphnia (Daphnia magna), and green algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) for n-butylparaben, i-butylparaben, and benzylparaben. Medaka vitellogenin assays were also conducted for the three compounds and DNA microarray analysis was carried out to examine the effects of benzylparaben on gene expression. The plasma vitellogenin concentration of male medaka increased for concentrations of 200, 100, and 100 microg L(-1) n-butylparaben, i-butylparaben, and benzylparaben for 14 days, respectively, while the expression levels of genes encoding proteins such as p53, cytochrome P450 3A40, and choriogenin-L increased for concentrations higher than 4 microg L(-1) of benzylparaben. Furthermore, the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) was calculated using the lethal or effect concentration 50 (LC50 or EC50) values and no-effect concentrations (NOECs) obtained in the toxicity tests for these compounds. The maximum concentrations found in the aquatic environment or sewage effluent (MEC eff) were used to carry out preliminary environmental risk assessment. The calculated MEC/PNEC ratio suggests the necessity of further study such as a more detailed large-scale monitoring and chronic toxicity tests including reproduction inhibition and endocrine disruption.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 Suppl ","pages":"73-87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"27359354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Charles R Tyler, Anke Lange, Gregory C Paull, Yoshinao Katsu, Taisen Iguchi
{"title":"The roach (Rutilus rutilus) as a sentinel for assessing endocrine disruption.","authors":"Charles R Tyler, Anke Lange, Gregory C Paull, Yoshinao Katsu, Taisen Iguchi","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Alterations in development and reproduction as a consequence of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been demonstrated in many wildlife species. Animals living in, or closely associated with, the aquatic environment are particularly vulnerable to endocrine disruption because thousands of chemicals are actively disposed into rivers, estuaries and seas. Fish have thus been a focus in endocrine disruption studies, and some of the most comprehensive studies on the disruption of sexual development and function are on the roach (Rutilus rutilus). This paper provides a critical analysis of the roach as a sentinel for studies into endocrine disruption. The paper starts by describing what is known on the basic reproductive biology of the roach, information essential for interpreting chemical effect measures on sexual development and function. We then analyze where and how the roach has been applied to improve our understanding of the estrogenic nature of discharges from wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) and describe the phenomenon of feminized male roach in UK rivers. In this paper, the causation of these effects and issues of relative susceptibility and sensitivity of the roach to the effects of estrogenic EDCs are addressed. The paper then describes the ongoing work on the development of genetic and genomic resources for roach and analyses how these are being applied in studies to understand the mechanisms of disruption of sexual development. Finally, the paper addresses the biological significance of sexual disruption and intersex for the individual and discusses the possible implications for wild populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 5","pages":"235-53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41008502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hormonal activity of polycyclic musks evaluated by reporter gene assay.","authors":"Taiki Mori, Mitsuru Iida, Hiroshi Ishibashi, Shinya Kohra, Yuji Takao, Takehiro Takemasa, Koji Arizono","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Synthetic musk fragrance compounds, such as polycyclic musks (PCMs), are a group of chemicals used extensively as personal care products, and can be found in the environment and the human body. PCMs, such as 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexa-methylcyclopenta-gamma-2-benzopyran (HHCB) and 7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyltetralin (AHTN), are known to have agonistic activities toward human estrogen receptor alpha (hERalpha) and hERbeta, and have antagonistic activity toward the human androgen receptor (hAR), as shown in several reporter gene assays. However, little is known about the interaction of PCMs with the human thyroid hormone receptor (hTR), and the hormonal effects of other PCMs except for HHCB and AHTN. In this study, we focus on the interactions of six PCMs, namely, HHCB, AHTN, 4-acetyl-1,1-dimethyl-6-tert-butyl-indan (ADBI), 6-acetyl-1,1,2,3,3,5-hexamethylindan (AHMI), 6,7-dihydro-1,1,2,3,3-pentamethyl-4(5H)-indanone (DPMI), and 5-acetyl-1,1,2,6-tetramethyl-3-isopropy-lindan (ATII) with hERalpha, hAR, and hTRbeta by in vitro reporter gene assay using Chinese hamster ovary cells. All the samples were found to be agonists toward hERalpha, whereas no agonistic activities of these PCMs for hAR and hTRbeta were observed. No antagonistic activities for hERalpha and hTRbeta were observed at the concentrations tested. However, several PCMs, namely, HHCB, AHTN, ATII, ADBI, and AHMI, showed dose-dependent antagonistic activities for hAR, and the IC50 values of these compounds were estimated to be 1.0 x 10(-7), 1.5 x 10(-7), 1.4 x 10(-7), 9.8 x 10(-6), and 1.4 x 10(-7) M, respectively. The results suggest that these PCMs interact with hERalpha and hAR but have no hormonal effect on hTRbeta. This is the first report on the agonistic and antagonistic activities of ATII, ADBI, AHMI, and DPMI for hERalpha and hAR as determined by in vitro reporter gene assay using stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 4","pages":"195-202"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26949272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mass balance study of nonylphenol ethoxylates and their metabolites in an urban river contaminated by nonylphenol.","authors":"Mamoru Motegi, Kiyoshi Nojiri, Shigeo Hosono, Kiyoshi Kawamura","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In previous studies, an urban river called Kamo River was found to be polluted with nonylphenol (NP) by a rubber product manufacturing factory. To determine the contribution of the factory effluent to the river pollution, a mass balance study was conducted for NP, nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPnEOs, n = 1-15), and nonylphenol carboxylates (NPmECs, m = 1-10) in the waters of the river and its 10 inflow channels. The total concentration of nonylphenolic compounds (T-NPCs) in the river water was 4.6 nM/L at the upstream sampling point and 54.6 nM/L at the downstream sampling point. T-NPCs concentration ranged from 0.4 to 487.1 nM/L in the waters of the inflow channels connected to the targeted river section, and the highest value was observed in the water of the inflow channel which receives the factory effluent. The mass flows of T-NPCs were 458.0 mM/day for Input (the upstream sampling point and outlets of 10 inflow channels) and 828.2 mM/day for Output (the downstream sampling point). The mass flow of the highly polluted inflow channel comprised 82.4% of Input. In comparison with the mass balance of chloride ion, the mass flow of T-NPCs in Output was still higher than that in Input. This phenomenon was attributed to the high mass flows of NP and NPnEOs (n = 1-3) in Output, and their potential source was determined to be the river sediment.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 Suppl ","pages":"9-21"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"27359349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Makiko Sekiyama, Mika Tanaka, Budhi Gunawan, Oekan Abdoellah, Chiho Watanabe
{"title":"Pesticide usage and its association with health symptoms among farmers in rural villages in West Java, Indonesia.","authors":"Makiko Sekiyama, Mika Tanaka, Budhi Gunawan, Oekan Abdoellah, Chiho Watanabe","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The improper handling of pesticides in agriculture has caused serious health problems in many developing countries. In this study, we report the pesticide usage condition among Indonesian farmers and its association with symptoms of pesticide toxicity. A questionnaire survey on personal history regarding agricultural labor, pesticide storage and disposal, pesticide use and health history was conducted using a structured questionnaire in rural Sundanese villages in West Java, Indonesia. The most frequently used pesticides included dithiocarbamates, pyrethroids and organophosphates. In approximately 80% of sprayings, category II pesticides (World Health Organization (WHO) categorization; \"moderately hazardous\") were used. Many of the subject farmers worked in a highly unsafe occupational environment; protective measures and safe handling were rarely observed, whereas smoking and drinking during spraying were frequently practiced. Correlation analysis revealed that farmers who wore a long sleeve shirt and headgear showed health symptoms less frequently. Moreover, farmers who had skin contact with the spray solution during measuring or mixing (excluding the hands), who wore wet clothing (skin exposure to pesticide), and who smoked and rubbed their eyes during spraying showed more symptoms. Among these factors, headgear use, wearing wet clothing (skin exposure to pesticide), and smoking during spraying were the significant determining factors for developing health symptoms. Preventing such behaviors will be an effective method of reducing health problems among the subject farmers.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 Suppl ","pages":"23-33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"27359350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Seasonal changes in nonylphenol ethoxylates and their metabolites in water and sediment of urban river polluted by nonylphenol.","authors":"Mamoru Motegi, Kiyoshi Nojiri, Shigeo Hosono, Kiyoshi Kawamura","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The concentrations of nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPnEOs: n = 1-15) and nonylphenoxy acetic acids (NPmECs: m = 1-10) in river water and sediment were determined seasonally at four sampling sites in the Kamo River, which is a typical urban river and was already known to be polluted by NP. In the water, the concentrations of NP, NPnEOs and NPmECs ranged from 0.13 to 3.65 microg/L, from 1.0 to 22.4 microg/L, and from 0.6 to 8.5 microg/L, respectively. NP, nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO), nonylphenoxy acetic acid (NP1EC) and nonylphenol monoethoxy acetic acid (NP2EC) were predominant in the water. In the sediment, the concentrations of NP, NPnEOs and NPmECs ranged from 69 to 10,747 microg/kg dry weight (dw), from 74 to 6,101 microg/kg dw, and from 24 to 673 microg/kg dw, respectively. NP, NP1EO and NP2EO were predominant in the sediment. The total concentrations of NP, NPnEOs and NPmECs in both river water and sediment were higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. In the river water, the ratio in concentration of the sum of NP, NP1EO, NP2EO, NP1EC and NP2EC to the whole nonylphenolic compounds was correlated with water temperature. The surveyed results suggested that some point emission sources of nonylphenolic compounds were located in the river basin between the first sampling site and the second sampling site.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 3","pages":"109-28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26823807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Desorption/ionization on carbon mass spectrometry: study of amorphous-carbon property.","authors":"Hiroyuki Masaki, Yukitaka Moriya, Kohei Shibamoto, Takashi Korenaga","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, an amorphous carbon was proposed as a new ionization substrate for laser desorption/ionization (LDI) and its efficiency for soft laser ionization without any matrix molecules was focused on the soft laser ionization effect of the amorphous carbon substrate was compared with that of a stainless substrate by LDI and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) using a 266-nm irradiation laser. The result of the amorphous carbon substrate was indicated to have a soft ionization effect similar to the result of MALDI. In addition, from the experimental result achieved by soft laser ionization using not only 266-nm-wavelength but also 355-nm-wave length irradiation lasers, the amorphous carbon substrate had a high degree of generality for selecting a sample similarly to soft ionization. The same experimental condition was carried out for other amorphous carbon substrates with different surface roughnesses in order to clarify the ionization mechanism on the amorphous carbon substrates. From the results, it was suggested that factors besides the difference in surface roughness exist for laser ionization efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":87178,"journal":{"name":"Environmental sciences : an international journal of environmental physiology and toxicology","volume":"14 1","pages":"15-22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"26679667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}