A Gill Filament EROD Assay : Development and Application in Environmental Monitoring

• Main Author: Jönsson, Maria
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Ekotoxikologi 2003
• Subjects: Biology; aquatic; benzo[a]pyrene; biomarker; CYP1A; environmental monitoring; EROD; fish; gill; indigo; PCB; Biologi; Arctic; Arctic charr; atlantic cod; Atlantic salmon; Gadus morhua; Salmo salar; Salvelinus alpinus
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-3913

A gill filament-based assay for the cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A)-catalysed activity ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) was developed in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and applied to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), saithe (Pollachius virens), and spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor). Exposure to waterborne β-naphthoflavone (βNF; 10-6 M) induced branchial EROD activity in all species but the spotted wolffish. In rainbow trout exposed to low concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP; 10-9 M) and the textile dye indigo (10-8 M) the gills responded more rapidly than the liver to BaP, and indigo induced branchial but not hepatic EROD activity. A CYP1A-dependent BaP adduct formation was shown in gills of fish exposed to waterborne 3H-BaP, i.e. the adduct formation was enhanced by βNF and blocked by ellipticine (CYP1A inhibitor). The predominant location for BaP adducts was the secondary lamellae (most exposed part of the gill filament), whereas the CYP1A enzyme was also present in the primary lamellae of the gill filament. Hence, in addition to the cell-specific expression of CYP1A an important determinant for the localisation of adducts seemed to be the bioavailability of BaP. This idea is supported by the fact that the CYP1A enzyme was induced only in secondary lamellae by BaP (10-7 M) and indigo (10-6 M), whereas it was induced in both primary and secondary lamellae by 3,3´,4,4´,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (10-8 M). Apparently, readily metabolised inducers (BaP and indigo) are biotransformed in the secondary lamellae. My results show that gill filament EROD activity is a sensitive biomarker of exposure to waterborne dioxin-like pollutants, and that the assay has potential for use in monitoring. Furthermore, the results suggest that readily metabolised dioxin-like compounds absorbed via the gills may undergo first-pass metabolism in the gill cells and therefore remain undetected by monitoring of EROD activity in the liver.