Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, The Nothe, Weymouth, Dorset, UK.
Aquat Toxicol. 2012 Oct 15;122-123:75-85. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2012.05.006. Epub 2012 May 28.
This study was designed to assess whether the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and other substances from a Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) effluent (receiving water: R. Ray, Swindon, UK) by granular activated carbon (GAC) affected biomarkers of exposure to EDCs [vitellogenin (VTG) and spiggin] in male and female three-spined sticklebacks in the receiving water. A nearby river (R. Ock), with a negligible effluent loading, was used as a control. On each river fish were sampled from four sites on five occasions both before and after remediation of the WWTW effluent. The results show for the first time in a UK field study a clear seasonality of blood VTG concentrations in wild male fish, following closely the VTG profile in female fish from both rivers. VTG levels in male fish from the R. Ray were significantly reduced after the GAC installation. However, VTG levels in males from the control sites also varied significantly across the same period, reducing the significance of this finding. A laboratory exposure to oestradiol (using site-specific lower and upper levels of oestrogenic activity) failed to elevate VTG concentrations in male sticklebacks suggesting that concentrations in the effluent, even prior to remediation, may not have exceeded a critical sensitivity threshold. Most importantly, a significant increase in female kidney spiggin content (a highly specific biomarker of xeno-androgen exposure) occurred in fish in the R. Ray after the GAC installation to levels comparable with those in fish from the control river. The significance of this finding is strengthened by the fact that during the pre-remediation period in the R. Ray, female spiggin levels increased with increasing distance from the WWTW. Our results provide the first in vivo evidence of the presence of anti-androgens in a UK WWTW effluent. To our knowledge this is the first UK-based comprehensive field study on the effects of a WWTW upgrade on biomarkers of EDC exposure using a sentinel fish species and our findings confirm the value of the stickleback as a model species for studying EDCs both in the laboratory and in the wild.
本研究旨在评估通过粒状活性炭（GAC）从废水处理厂（接收水：英国斯温顿的 R. Ray）废水中去除内分泌干扰化学物质（EDCs）和其他物质是否会影响接收水中雄性和雌性三刺鱼的 EDC 暴露生物标志物[卵黄蛋白原（VTG）和 spiggin]。附近的一条河流（R. Ock），废水负荷可忽略不计，用作对照。在每个河流中，在废水处理厂进行修复前后，分别在五个时间点从四个地点对鱼类进行采样。结果首次在英国野外研究中显示，野生雄性鱼类血液 VTG 浓度具有明显的季节性，与来自两条河流的雌性鱼类的 VTG 图谱密切相关。R. Ray 中雄性鱼的 VTG 水平在 GAC 安装后显著降低。然而，来自对照地点的雄性鱼的 VTG 水平在同一时期也发生了显著变化，降低了这一发现的意义。实验室暴露于雌二醇（使用特定部位的雌激素活性的较低和较高水平）未能使雄性刺鱼的 VTG 浓度升高，这表明即使在修复之前，废水中的浓度也可能没有超过临界敏感阈值。最重要的是，在 GAC 安装后，R. Ray 中的雌性鱼肾脏 spiggin 含量（一种特定于外源性和雄激素暴露的生物标志物）显著增加，达到与对照河流中的鱼相当的水平。在 R. Ray 中，在修复前的时期，随着距离废水处理厂的距离增加，雌性 spiggin 水平增加，这一事实增强了这一发现的意义。我们的研究结果提供了英国废水处理厂存在抗雄激素的第一个体内证据。据我们所知，这是第一个使用有蹄类鱼作为指示物种的英国全面野外研究，研究废水处理厂升级对 EDC 暴露生物标志物的影响，我们的研究结果证实了刺鱼作为实验室和野外研究 EDC 的模型物种的价值。
