Identification of Mid-Polar and Polar AhR Agonists in Cetaceans from Korean Coastal Waters: Application of Effect-Directed Analysis with Full-Scan Screening

[Image: see text] Major aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists were identified in extracts of blubber, liver, and muscle from six long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) and one fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) collected from Korean coastal waters using effect-directed analysis. Results...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Science & Technology
Main Authors: Cha, Jihyun, Hong, Seongjin, Lee, Junghyun, Gwak, Jiyun, Kim, Mungi, Mok, Sori, Moon, Hyo-Bang, Jones, Paul D., Giesy, John P., Khim, Jong Seong
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: American Chemical Society 2023
Subjects:
Balaenoptera physalus
Fin whale
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10586376/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37787753
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c04311
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Summary:[Image: see text] Major aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists were identified in extracts of blubber, liver, and muscle from six long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) and one fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) collected from Korean coastal waters using effect-directed analysis. Results of the H4IIE-luc bioassay indicated that the polar fractions of blubber and liver extracts from the fin whale exhibited relatively high AhR-mediated potencies. Based on full-scan screening with high-resolution mass spectrometry, 37 AhR agonist candidates, spanning four use categories: pharmaceuticals, pesticides, cosmetics, and natural products, were selected. Among these, five polar AhR agonists were newly identified through toxicological confirmation. Concentrations of polar AhR agonists in cetaceans were tissue-specific, with extracts of blubber and liver containing greater concentrations than muscle extracts. Polar AhR agonists with great log K(OA) values (>5) were found to biomagnify in the marine food chain potentially. Polar AhR agonists contributed 8.9% of the observed AhR-mediated potencies in blubber and 49% in liver. Rutaecarpine and alantolactone contributed significantly to the total AhR-mediated potencies of blubber, whereas hydrocortisone was a major AhR contributor in the liver of the fin whale. This study is the first to identify the tissue-specific accumulation of polar AhR agonists in blubber and liver extracts of cetaceans.

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