Effect-directed analysis of Elizabeth River porewater: Developmental toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry Vol. 33; no. 12; pp. 2767 - 2774
• Main Authors: Fang, Mingliang, Getzinger, Gordon J., Cooper, Ellen M., Clark, Bryan W., Garner, Lindsey V.T., Di Giulio, Richard T., Ferguson, P. Lee, Stapleton, Heather M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pensacola, FL Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2014; SETAC
• Subjects: Acute toxicity; Animals; Aromatic compounds; Benz(a)Anthracenes - chemistry; Benz(a)Anthracenes - isolation & purification; Benz(a)Anthracenes - toxicity; Benzo(a)pyrene; Benzo(a)pyrene - chemistry; Benzo(a)pyrene - isolation & purification; Benzo(a)pyrene - toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiovascular System - drug effects; Chromatography; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Reverse-Phase; Colloid chemistry; Contaminants; Creosote; CYP1A protein; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 - antagonists & inhibitors; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 - metabolism; Cytochrome P450; Cytochromes P450; Danio rerio; Dibenzothiophene; Effect-directed analysis; Elizabeth River; Embryo, Nonmammalian - drug effects; Embryology: invertebrates and vertebrates. Teratology; Embryonic Development - drug effects; Embryos; Estuaries; Fluoranthene; Fluorenes - chemistry; Fluorenes - isolation & purification; Fluorenes - metabolism; Fluorenes - toxicity; Fractionation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Inhibitors; Liquid chromatography; Organic chemistry; Pollution abatement; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - chemistry; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - metabolism; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - toxicity; Pore water; Porewater; Pretreatment; Pyrene; Pyrenes - chemistry; Pyrenes - isolation & purification; Pyrenes - toxicity; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon - agonists; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon - metabolism; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Superfund; Synergism; Teratogenesis; Teratogenicity; Teratology. Teratogens; Toxic; Toxicity; Toxicology; Virginia; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water Pollutants, Chemical - isolation & purification; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Zebrafish; Zebrafish - growth & development; United States > US; Virginia; USA, Virginia, Elizabeth R; USA; Fractionation; Bioassay; Hydrocarbon; Toxicity; Zebrafish; Rivers; Effect directed analysis; Polycyclic aromatic compound; Elizabeth River; Interstitial water; Effect-directed analysis; Persistent organic pollutant; Freshwater environment; Vertebrata; Brachydanio rerio; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Pisces; Stream; Porewater; Cyprinidae; Teratogen
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.2738

In the present study, effect‐directed analysis was used to identify teratogenic compounds in porewater collected from a Superfund site along the Elizabeth River estuary (VA, USA). Zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to the porewater displayed acute developmental toxicity and cardiac teratogenesis, presumably because of elevated sediment levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from historical creosote use. Pretreatment of porewater with several physical and chemical particle removal methods revealed that colloid‐bound chemicals constituted the bulk of the observed toxicity. Size‐exclusive chromatography and normal‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography were used to fractionate Elizabeth River porewater. Acute toxicity of porewater extracts and extract fractions was assessed as the pericardial area in embryonic zebrafish. The most toxic fraction contained several known aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists (e.g., 1,2‐benzofluorene and 1,2‐benzanthracene) and cytochrome P450 A1 (CPY1A) inhibitors (e.g., dibenzothiophene and fluoranthene). The second most toxic fraction contained known AhR agonists (e.g., benzo[a]pyrene and indeno[1,2,3‐cd]pyrene). Addition of a CYP1A inhibitor, fluoranthene, increased toxicity in all active porewater fractions, suggesting synergism between several contaminants present in porewaters. The results indicate that the observed acute toxicity associated with Elizabeth River porewater results from high concentrations of AhR agonistic PAHs and mixture effects related to interactions between compounds co‐occurring at the Elizabeth River site. However, even after extensive fractionation and chemical characterization, it remains plausible that some active compounds in Elizabeth River porewater remain unidentified. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:2767–2774. © 2014 SETAC