Screening of thyroid gland histology in organohalogen-contaminated glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Norwegian Arctic

The associations between blood organohalogen contaminant (OHC) concentrations and thyroid gland histology were studied in 10 adult female glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Norwegian Arctic (Bjørnøya) during the incubation period. This histological investigation was undertaken as previous glaucous gull studies from the same area reported negative relationships between circulating OHC concentrations and thyroid hormone levels. Organohalogen concentrations have previously been associated with altered blood plasma thyroid hormone concentrations, as a result of parenchymal thyroid gland alterations and perturbation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT)-axis. In this study, PCB (range: 186–1027 ng g^?1ww), DDT (77–203 ng g^?1ww) and chlordane (18–65 ng g^?1ww) concentrations dominated the blood plasma OHC profile in incubating female glaucous gulls. High density of small follicles accompanied by follicular epithelial cell proliferations was seen in thyroid glands in seven of 10 gulls. Focal thyroiditis and nodular hyperplasia were found in two birds. No significant differences in plasma OHC concentrations were noted between gulls exhibiting high density of small follicles and cell proliferations and those birds not showing histological changes. Based on these findings, data suggest that the histological changes in thyroid glands of OHC-contaminated female glaucous gulls may be due to natural variance, although an OHC-induced thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) perturbation resulting in epithelial cell hyperplasia and increased follicular density cannot be ruled out and remains to be verified. Hence, a large-scale histological study is required, in order to elaborate the potential linkage between changes in thyroid gland histology, OHC exposure and regulation of the HPT-axis in the Arctic-breeding glaucous gull.     

Impact of environmental pollutants on vertebrate thyroid systems

甲状腺激素在脊椎动物新陈代谢、生长发育与繁殖等生理过程中起着重要的调节作用.环境污染物种类和数量不断增加,其中有很多污染物具有环境内分泌干扰的作用.甲状腺对环境污染物具有极敏感的反应,污染物不仅会引起滤泡及滤泡细胞大小、滤泡细胞数量和滤泡腔中胶质含量的改变,影响到甲状腺激素合成、分泌、转运以及代谢中多种酶的表达和活性变化,还参与和甲状腺激素的竞争性结合,进而影响到机体中由甲状腺激素调节的各项生理功能,甚至会导致机体趋于死亡.由于两栖类幼体——蝌蚪的变态发育阶段直接受到甲状腺激素的调控,现已被确认为筛选和研究环境内分泌干扰物的首选生物检测指示动物.     

水环境中溶解态腐殖酸对锌抗甲状腺激素干扰效应的影响

本文以重金属锌为研究对象,应用重组人甲状腺激素受体(h TR)基因酵母快速测试方法,检测溶解态腐殖酸对锌抗甲状腺激素干扰效应的影响,利用阳极溶出伏安法(ASV)检测溶解态腐殖酸与锌作用后,生物有效态锌含量的变化,同时利用三维荧光光谱中的激发-发射矩阵(3DEEM)技术初步考察腐殖酸与锌的作用机制.结果表明,氯化锌具有显著的抗甲状腺激素干扰效应,其RIC20(抑制率为20%时氯化锌的浓度)值为1.70×10-5mol·L~(-1),当腐殖酸与氯化锌作用后,其抗甲状腺激素干扰效应降低了30%~50%,ASV测试结果表明当腐殖酸和氯化锌溶液混合后,生物有效态锌含量明显降低,与生物测试结果相似;紫外照射腐殖酸与氯化锌的混合体系后,其抗甲状腺激素干扰效应上升,但仍低于未加腐殖酸氯化锌溶液的抗甲状腺激素干扰效应值;3DEEM的测试结果表明氯化锌能够降低腐殖酸荧光峰的荧光强度,能够直观地表征腐殖酸与氯化锌相互作用.上述结果可为研究环境水体中锌的生物毒性及锌水质基准的制定提供基础数据和理论支持.     

卤代有机污染物抑制甲状腺激素代谢酶活性的研究进展

甲状腺激素(thyroid hormones,THs)对生物体细胞的正常发育和分化至关重要,甲状腺激素失调可引起中枢神经系统、肺、心血管和其他器官的异常发育。研究表明,环境中的卤代有机污染物(halogenated organic contaminants,HOCs)及其代谢产物具有甲状腺激素干扰效应。抑制参与THs代谢的生物酶,例如磺基转移酶(sulfotransferases,SULTs)和脱碘酶(deiodinases,DIs),是HOCs及其代谢产物干扰THs正常功能的重要方式。本文重点综述了HOCs对不同甲状腺激素代谢酶的抑制效应的研究,讨论了环境计算化学和预测毒理学方法在该领域的重要应用,期望为HOCs干扰甲状腺激素酶代谢活性的深入研究提供借鉴与参考。     

生产源区人血清中六溴环十二烷水平与甲状腺激素相关性研究

采用超高效液相色谱-电喷雾离子源-串联三重四极质谱(UPLC-ESI-MS/MS)检测了六溴环十二烷(HBCD)在生产源区人血清中的浓度.80个人血清样品中ΣHBCD含量(以脂重计,下同)为nd~2702.5 ng·g-1,均值和中值分别为104.9ng·g-1和5.9 ng·g-1,其中42个样品中γ-HBCD丰度最高,26个样品中α-HBCD丰度最高.ΣHBCD浓度与年龄、性别无显著性相关.本研究中,生产源区人群血清甲状腺5项指标异常率高达33%.且检出HBCD异构体的人血清样本中TSH、T3、FT3、T4及FT4这5项指标出现异常的概率显著高于未检出HBCD的血清样本.本研究认为生产源区居民属于HBCD高暴露人群,人群暴露HBCD可能会显著增加甲状腺五项指标异常的发生率.     

Effects of ZnO nanoparticles on perfluorooctane sulfonate induced thyroid-disrupting on zebrafish larvae

Perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) and ZnO nanoparticles(nano-ZnO) are widely distributed in the environment.However,the potential toxicity of co-exposure to PFOS and nano-ZnO remains to be fully elucidated.The test investigated the effects of co-exposure to PFOS and nano-ZnO on the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid(HPT) axis in zebrafish.Zebrafish embryos were exposed to a combination of PFOS(0.2,0.4,0.8 mg/L) and nano-ZnO(50 mg/L)from their early stages of life(0–14 days).The whole-body content of TH and the expression of genes and proteins related to the HPT axis were analyzed.The co-exposure decreased the body length and increased the malformation rates compared with exposure to PFOS alone.Co-exposure also increased the triiodothyronine(T3) levels,whereas the thyroxine(T4)content remained unchanged.Compared with the exposure to PFOS alone,exposure to both PFOS(0.8 mg/L) and nano-ZnO(50 mg/L) significantly up-regulated the expression of corticotropin-releasing factor,sodium/iodidesymporter,iodothyronine deiodinases and thyroid receptors and significantly down-regulated the expression of thyroid-stimulating hormone,thyroglobulin(TG),transthyretin(TTR) and thyroid receptors.The protein expression levels of TG and TTR were also significantly down-regulated in the co-exposure groups.In addition,the expression of the thyroid peroxidase gene was unchanged in all groups.The results demonstrated that PFOS and nano-ZnO co-exposure could cause more serious thyroid-disrupting effects in zebrafish than exposure to PFOS alone.Our results also provide insight into the mechanism of disruption of the thyroid status by PFOS and nano-ZnO.     

四溴双酚-A和五溴酚对红鲫甲状腺激素和脱碘酶的影响

将红鲫(Carassius auratus)分别暴露于0.5mg·L-1四滇双酚-A(TBBPA)和0.1 mg·L-1五澳酚(PBP)中28 d,采用放射性免疫分析法和化学发光酶联免疫分析法检测红鲫的血清甲状腺激素水平和肝脏脱碘酶活性.结果显示,TBBPA能使红鲫血清TT4和TT3水平降低,rT3水平、肝脏脱碘酶ID2和ID3活性升高.PBP对红鲫甲状腺系统的干扰要小于TBBPA,它对红鲫血清TT3水平和ID2活性几乎没有影响.上述结果表明,TBBPA和PBP能够干扰红鲫体内甲状腺激素的稳态,加速甲状腺激素在肝脏内的转化和代谢;这可能是通过抑制甲状腺激素与运载蛋白的结合来实现的.     

Comparisons of polybrominated diphenyl ethers levels in paired South Korean cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk samples

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), commonly used flame retardants, have been reported as potential endocrine disruptor and neurodevelopmental toxicants, thus giving rise to the public health concern. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between umbilical cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk concentrations of PBDEs in South Korean. We assessed PBDE levels in paired samples of umbilical cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk. The levels of seven PBDE congeners were measured in 21 paired samples collected from the Cheil Woman’s Hospital (Seoul, Korea) in 2008. We also measured thyroid hormones levels in maternal and cord blood to assess the association between PBDEs exposure and thyroid hormone levels. However, there was no correlation between serum thyroxin (T4) and total PBDEs concentrations. The total PBDEs concentrations in the umbilical cord blood, maternal blood, and breast milk were 10.7 ± 5.1 ng g⁻¹ lipid, 7.7 ± 4.2 ng g⁻¹ lipid, and 3.0 ± 1.8 ng g⁻¹ lipid, respectively. The ranges of total PBDE concentrations observed were 2.28-30.94 ng g⁻¹ lipid in umbilical cord blood, 1.8-17.66 ng g⁻¹ lipid in maternal blood, and 1.08-8.66 ng g⁻¹ lipid in breast milk. BDE-47 (45-73% of total PBDEs) was observed to be present dominantly in all samples, followed by BDE-153. A strong correlation was found for major BDE-congeners between breast milk and cord blood or maternal blood and cord blood samples. The measurement of PBDEs concentrations in maternal blood or breast milk may help to determine the concentration of PBDEs in infant.     

污染物对鱼类的甲状腺激素干扰效应及其作用机制

环境中可以影响生物体甲状腺激素合成、运输、作用和代谢等过程的化学污染物称为甲状腺激素干扰物(TDCs),TDCs被认为是继环境雌激素之后最重要的一类内分泌干扰物.鱼类甲状腺的结构、甲状腺激素的转运和功能等与哺乳动物有较大差别.与哺乳动物相比,污染物干扰鱼类甲状腺激素的研究还较为缺乏.在介绍鱼类甲状腺结构、功能以及甲状腺激素在鱼体内动态过程的基础上,分析了污染物对鱼类的甲状腺激素干扰效应及其作用机制,探讨了今后鱼类甲状腺激素干扰研究的主要方向.污染物能对鱼类甲状腺激素水平、相关酶活性及甲状腺结构等产生直接影响;同时,污染物还可以通过干扰鱼类甲状腺系统对由甲状腺激素调节的重要生理过程如生长、繁殖和发育等产生间接影响.污染物主要通过干扰鱼类甲状腺激素的合成与分泌、转运、清除以及与甲状腺激素受体(TR)的相互作用等机制对鱼类产生不利影响.在污染物对鱼类甲状腺激素干扰的研究中,今后应重点关注环境中"新型"卤化有机污染物、鱼类早期发育过程与甲状腺激素干扰效应的关系、TR介导机制以及TDCs的筛选方法等.