Sorption and Desorption of Three Endocrine Disrupters in Soils

Sorption of the estrogens estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) on four soils was examined using batch equilibrium experiments with initial estrogen concentrations ranging from 10 to 1000 ng mL^?1. At all concentrations, >85% of the three estrogens sorbed rapidly to a sandy soil. E1 sorbed more strongly to soil than E2 or EE2. Partial oxidation of E2 to E1 was observed in the presence of soils. Autoclaving was more effective at reducing this conversion than inhibition with sodium azide or mercuric chloride, and had little effect on sorption, relative to the chemical microbial inhibitors. Sorption of EE2 was greater for fine-textured than coarse-textured soils, but greater than 90% of EE2 sorbed onto all four soils. The greatest degree of desorption of estrogens from the sandy soil occurred with the lowest initial concentration of 10 ng mL^?1 and reached levels ≥80% for E1 and E2. Desorption of EE2 was greater in coarser textured soils than finer-textured soils. Again, relative desorption from all soils was greatest with low initial concentrations. Therefore, at environmentally relevant concentrations, estrogens quickly sorb to soils, and soils have a large capacity to bind estrogens, but these endocrine-disrupting compounds can become easily desorbed and released into the aqueous phase.     

源解析中环境受体数据处理与扩展方法的建立

本文对包含污染源或气象条件等发生剧烈变化且数据量小的实测受体数据进行了正态扩展,得到扩展数据.同时,利用PMF和PCA模型验证了扩展方法得到的数据量是否能满足模型的要求.结果表明,扩展范围和扩展受体成分谱个数是两个影响扩展数据合理性的主要因素,最佳扩展条件为:扩展范围取标准差的0.5倍,扩展受体成分谱个数为6个.通过53 h算法标记出每个化学成分时间序列中能够代表污染源或气象条件等发生剧烈变化的值并给出对应的估计值.将与估计值的相对误差(RE)超过80%的被标记的值剔除,其余的替换成估计值,发现扩展后PCA解析结果与原始数据处理后数据解析结果基本一致,能够得到主要贡献的污染源及贡献率;若将被标记的值全部剔除后,则不适合做PCA解析;仅通过PMF验证,且扩展数据与原始数据的解析结果中污染源类的判断一致.将受体数据各化学成分的时间序列中代表污染源或气象条件等发生剧烈变化的值替换成53 h算法给出的估计值,对于受体数据量小且用无源成分谱的多元统计方法解析无法给出结果的情况下的源解析有更大价值.     

真鲷去毒相关基因cDNA序列的克隆与肝脏组成型表达分析

赤潮发生时产生的一些海洋生物毒素对人类和海洋动物的安全形成潜在的威胁甚至导致死亡.为从分子水平探讨鱼类中海洋藻毒素的去毒分子机理,采用RT-PCR法克隆了真鲷(Pagrus major)肝脏芳香烃受体核转位蛋白(ARNT)和I时相异生素代谢酶细胞色素P4501A(CYP1A)基因cDNA核心序列,同时,应用半定量RT-PCR方法,以β-肌动蛋白作为外参照,在其指数期增长的范围内研究了芳香烃受体(AHR)、ARNT、CYP1A、II时相异生素代谢酶alpha型谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(GSTA1、GSTA2)、rho型谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(GSTR)、热休克蛋白70(HSP70)基因组成型表达水平.结果发现,真鲷ARNT、CYP1A基因cDNA核心序列片段分别长438bp和908bp,分别编码146和302个氨基酸.序列同源性分析发现,真鲷与门齿鲷(Stenotomus chrysops)、石首鱼(Micropogon undulatus)ARNT基因氨基酸序列同源性高达97.2%、95.2%,与斑马鱼(Brachydanio rerio)、人、大鼠、小鼠ARNT同源性较低(77.2%～79.3%).真鲷与门齿鲷、金头鲷(Sparus auratus)、欧洲川鲽(Rhombus maximus)、欧洲海鲈(Dicentrachus labrax)CYP1A基因氨基酸序列同源性较高,为84.8%～94.0%,与斑马鱼、人、小鼠CYP1A同源性较低,为59.6%～77.8%.真鲷肝脏AHR、ARNT、CYP1A、GSTA1、GSTA2、GSTR和HSP70基因组成型表达水平分别为(25.32±6.56)%、(26.22±4.24)%、(146.5±16.06)%、(55.42±3.75)%、(48.82±10.89)%、(79.47±3.13)%、(107.42±14.34)%.     

工频磁场诱导人FL细胞膜EGF的受体聚簇及噪声磁场的干预

为了研究50Hz工频磁场对人源细胞膜表皮生长因子(epidermal growth factor,EGF)的受体聚簇现象的可能诱导作用及噪声磁场的干预,将人羊膜细胞FL(human amniotic cells)分别用EGF、不同强度(0.05、0.1、0.2、0.4mT)工频磁场、噪声磁场、工频磁场和噪声磁场叠加的复合场处理15 min后,用间接免疫荧光染色法标记,并用激光共聚焦显微镜观察细胞膜表皮生长因子(EGF)的受体的聚簇现象.结果表明,0.1、0.2、0.4mT工频磁场辐照FL细胞15 min可诱导细胞膜EGF的受体发生聚簇,但0.05mT工频磁场辐照时,细胞膜不出现EGF受体的明显聚簇.0.2mT噪声磁场则不能诱导细胞膜EGF受体的聚簇;当0.2mT噪声磁场与0.1、0.2mT工频磁场叠加后,可抑制工频磁场诱导的细胞膜EGF受体聚簇,但不能完全抑制0.4mT工频磁场诱导的细胞膜EGF受体聚簇.研究结果表明,一定强度的工频磁场能诱导细胞膜EGF受体的聚簇;其作用阈值在0.05～0.1mT之间;噪声磁场对工频磁场诱导膜受体聚簇的干预作用存在剂量-效应关系.     

沈阳市某化工园区现状环境风险评估

从风险物质数量、风险诱发因素及风险防控能力角度出发,采用加权评分法,结合周边环境敏感受体情况,对沈阳市某化工园现状做环境风险评估。结果表明:JHYSD和XJHX的区域环境风险值贡献最大,分别为3.08和2.59,约占园区内总风险值的41.2%;该化工园综合环境风险值为13.57,构成该综合风险值的各分项大小不同,其中,RIS_(危险废物)分项环境风险最大,贡献率达到28.89%,其次为RIS_(大气),贡献率达27.34%,其余三者顺序为RIS_(化学品)RIS_水RIS_(累积)。     

Effects of estrone on the early life stages and expression of vitellogenin and estrogen receptor genes of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

The fertilized eggs of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) were exposed to estrone (E1) at 5–5000 ng L⁻¹ for 15 d, and the hatched fry were exposed continuously to the same concentrations for the additional 15 d. Adverse effects on hatchability, time to hatching, and gross abnormalities occurred at 50 ng L⁻¹ or above. Then the fry were divided into a continual exposure group, and a water recovery group. When the fry were exposed to E1 for another 60 d, there was a decrease in the hepatosomatic index (HSI) of males and the influence disappeared in the water recovery group. The gonadosonatic index (GSI) of females at 500 ng L⁻¹ decreased significantly in another 60 d exposure. While the fry were maintained in dechlorinated tap water for 60 d, a significant decrease in female GSI was observed at 50 ng L⁻¹ or above. An increased GSI was found in males in both continual exposure and water recovery groups at all E1 treatments. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that vitellogenin-I (Vtg-I) gene expressions in the female liver were significantly down-regulated at 50 ng L⁻¹ in the continual exposure group, and at 500 ng L⁻¹ in the water recovery group, while male Vtg-I genes were significantly up-regulated for all E1 treatments. In addition, all E1 treatments caused sex reversal of males. These results suggest that E1 at 5 ng L⁻¹ or above have unrecoverable impacts on the gonadal growth and development of medaka, even if only early life stages were exposed to E1.     

PCDD/Fs-induced oxidative damage and antioxidant system responses in tobacco cell suspension cultures

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are ubiquitous contaminants and can be considerably accumulated by natural plants. In order to elucidate the biochemical and physiological responses of plant to PCDD/Fs, tobacco Bright Yellow-2 (BY-2) cells were selected as model plant and treated with time- and concentration-dependent PCDD/Fs. The toxic effect and oxidative stress caused by PCDD/Fs were evident, which could be indicted by the reduction in fresh mass, the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and the damage of tobacco cell ultrastructure. PCDD/Fs tolerance was correlated with changes in antioxidant system and hormones of tobacco cells. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) exhibited peak enzyme activities at the PCDD/Fs concentration of 1000 ng WHO₉₈-TEQ g⁻¹ fresh weight. Glutathione reductase (GR) enzyme activity increased monotonically at high level PCDD/Fs, but the activity of catalase (CAT) was only slightly affected at all treatment. Meanwhile, the exposure to PCDD/Fs resulted in the changes of hormones content. With the increase of exposure concentration of PCDD/Fs, the levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) increased, whereas the concentration of jasmonates (JAs) decreased. The above results suggest that tobacco cells had the ability to cope with the oxidative stress induced by low concentration of PCDD/Fs through increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes and alternating plant hormones levels. However, oxidative stress and toxicity would burst out when plant cells were exposed to the high levels of PCDD/Fs.     

A study on the effect of deoxynivalenol on serotonin receptor binding in fig brain membranes

Abstract

Central serotoninergic (5‐hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) pathways are believed to be involved in the mechanisms of anorexia and/or emesis evoked by the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). Using an in vitro membrane receptor binding assay, the competitive potency of DON was investigated against several radioactive ligands that have a high affinity for selective 5HT‐receptor subgroups. Receptor site densities and displacement profiles in twelve selected regions of pig brain were investigated. Overall, DON possessed only minimal efficacy to competently block any of the 5HT‐ligands tested. IC₅₀ values (50% inhibitory concentration) of at least 5 mM DON were required to inhibit binding, and in certain regions concentrations of 100 mM were ineffective. In comparison, several standard 5HT‐antagonists showed 10³‐10⁵ times greater capability than DON to displace binding of these ligands. Because these results indicated DON possesses only weak affinity for the 5HT‐receptor subtypes investigated here, this suggested that in vivo, unless relatively high concentrations of the toxin are present, its pharmacological effects may be mediated by mechanisms other than a functional interaction with serotoninergic receptors at the central level.     

Assays of PCB congeners and organochlorine insecticides with the transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco plants carrying recombinant guinea pig AhR and GUS reporter genes

Certain congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine insecticides are ligands of aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhRs) in animals. A recombinant guinea pig (g) AhR, XgDV, was constructed by fusing the ligand-binding domain of gAhR, the DNA-binding domain of LexA, and the transactivating domain of VP16. Then, the expression unit of β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene regulated by XgDV was introduced into Arabidopsis and tobacco plants. When the transgenic Arabidopsis XgDV plants were cultured on Murashige–Skoog (MS) medium containing PCB congeners, the GUS activity in the plants increased toxic equivalent (TEQ)-dependently. The GUS activity in the transgenic Arabidopsis XgDV plants cultured on MS medium containing the organochlorine insecticide dieldrin was also induced. On the other hand, in the case of DDT, the GUS activity induced by 3-methylcholanthere in the plants decreased. The transgenic Arabidopsis XgDV plants detected 1000 ng g^?1 PCB126 in 1 g of soils. Thus the XgDV plants seemed to be useful for convenient assays of PCB congeners and organochlorine insecticides, without any extraction and purification steps.     

The effects of soil and Trifolium repens (white clover) on the fate of estrogen

In this study, we investigated the behavior of estrogens in the rhizosphere of white clover (Trifolium repens, clover hereafter) with two different pot tests, using soil and agar as growth media. In a pot test using agar spiked with estrogen, the estrogen concentration in the agar with clover decreased to non-detectable levels within one month, while in the agar without clover, 60% of initially added estrogen remained after one month. The half-lives of estrone (E1) and 17β -estradiol (E2) in the agar with clover were 2.4–3.8 and 13.2 d, respectively. The dissipation of E1 followed first-order rate law, while that of E2 fitted a zero-order reaction, indicating that they had different mechanisms of dissipation from agar. In the soil pot test, the behavior of E1 and E2 was not influenced by clover. An initial rapid decrease in the amount of estrogen extracted by methanol/acetic acid was followed by persistence for 1–3 months, regardless of presence of clover. Moreover, in three weeks E1 and E2 were only partly degraded by microbes extracted from the soil used in the pot test. In this study, abiotic degradation of estrogens and sorption of estrogen to soil, rather than the effects of soil microbes and clover, contributed to the initial rapid dissipation of estrogens in the soil. However, the results of the agar pot test suggested that vegetation such as clover may significantly contribute to removal of estrogens when estrogens in aqueous phase are discharged with surface runoff and preferential flow after heavy rain in agricultural fields, or when present in soils with low estrogen sorptivity.