University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Chemosphere. 2010 Jun;80(1):13-9. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.03.050. Epub 2010 Apr 24.
The assessment of endocrine disrupting potentials of field sediments has until now been mostly limited to classical chemical analysis, in vitro assays and in vivo bioassays performed with vertebrates. There is an urgent need for easy, cheap and reproducible invertebrate tests which may be applied in certain monitoring activities. Since the mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum is known to be tolerant to natural stressors, but also sensitive to endocrine disrupting chemicals, it is very likely that this organism could be suitable for the assessment of endocrine effects of e.g. field sediments. Within this study the endocrine potential of sediments in three European river basins was assessed. The yeast estrogen screen (YES) and a sediment contact test with P. antipodarum were performed. Furthermore, analyses of physico-chemical properties and concentrations of heavy metals, PAHs, organotins, natural steroids and alkylphenols were done. In the sediment contact test, the reproduction of the snail was promoted by a part of the sediments. This phenomenon could not be explained by their physico-chemical properties. However, at some of those sites a high estrogenic activity was detected in the YES, leading to the assumption that endocrine disrupting compounds could be responsible for those effects. This assumption could be confirmed to some extent with partially high concentrations of xeno-estrogens (e.g. nonylphenol) at the certain sites. Our study demonstrates the applicability of the test with P. antipodarum for a variety of sediments and once again points out the need of suitable in vivo biotests for the risk assessment of field sediments.
到目前为止，对野外沉积物内分泌干扰潜力的评估主要局限于经典的化学分析、体外测定和使用脊椎动物进行的体内生物测定。迫切需要易于操作、成本低廉且可重复的无脊椎动物测试方法，以便在某些监测活动中应用。由于知道泥螺 Potamopyrgus antipodarum 能够耐受自然胁迫，但对内分泌干扰化学物质也很敏感，因此该生物很可能适合评估例如野外沉积物的内分泌影响。在本研究中，评估了三个欧洲流域沉积物的内分泌潜力。进行了酵母雌激素筛选（YES）和与 P. antipodarum 的沉积物接触测试。此外，还对物理化学性质以及重金属、多环芳烃、有机锡、天然类固醇和烷基酚的浓度进行了分析。在沉积物接触测试中，部分沉积物促进了蜗牛的繁殖。这种现象不能用它们的物理化学性质来解释。然而，在某些地点的 YES 中检测到高雌激素活性，这导致假设内分泌干扰化合物可能是这些影响的原因。在某些地点，部分高浓度的外源性雌激素（例如壬基酚）在一定程度上证实了这种假设。我们的研究表明，使用 P. antipodarum 进行各种沉积物的测试是可行的，再次指出需要合适的体内生物测试来评估野外沉积物的风险。
