Laboratory for Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, GhEnToxLab, Ghent University, Belgium; Blue Growth Research Lab, Ghent University, Bluebridge, Wetenschapspark 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium.
Laboratory for Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, GhEnToxLab, Ghent University, Belgium.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Mar 1;758:144157. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144157. Epub 2020 Nov 28.
The increasing number of chemicals detected in the marine environment underlines the need for appropriate prioritization strategies prior to further testing and potential inclusion into monitoring programs. Here, a prioritization strategy is proposed for chemicals detected in the North Sea over the last decade, through the development of a Concern Index (CI) using exposure and toxicity data obtained from peer-review publications and the ToxCast database, respectively. A total of 158 chemicals were ranked and the most sensitive tested assay endpoints were identified. Additionally, similar analysis was performed for the classes of chemicals and Biological Process Targets (BPTs). By first ranking chemicals currently acknowledged for their high toxicity to the aquatic environment, i.e. naphthalene, salicylic acid and simazine, the obtained results not only reinforce the risk posed by these but also promote a confident extrapolation from mammalian in vitro toxicity data to fish. Furthermore, genes targeted by the most sensitive assays, related to basic cell maintenance processes and immune defense, are highly evolutionarily conserved across species. The identification of these assays further reinforces the importance of a shift from traditional toxicity endpoints to lower levels of biological organization, allowing the detection of adverse effects at lower concentrations.
海洋环境中检测到的化学物质数量不断增加，这凸显了在进一步测试和潜在纳入监测计划之前，需要制定适当的优先排序策略。在这里，通过使用分别从同行评审出版物和 ToxCast 数据库获得的暴露和毒性数据，为过去十年在北海检测到的化学物质制定了一种优先排序策略，即通过开发关注指数 (CI)。总共对 158 种化学物质进行了排名，并确定了最敏感的测试终点。此外，还对化学物质类别和生物过程靶标 (BPT) 进行了类似的分析。通过首先对目前被认为对水生环境具有高毒性的化学物质（例如萘、水杨酸和西玛津）进行排名，所获得的结果不仅加强了这些物质所带来的风险，而且还可以从哺乳动物体外毒性数据中进行有信心的推断。此外，最敏感的检测所针对的与基本细胞维持过程和免疫防御相关的基因在物种间高度保守。这些检测方法的确定进一步强调了从传统毒性终点向较低水平的生物组织转变的重要性，从而可以在较低浓度下检测到不良反应。
