Hamilton Charles M, Winter Matthew J, Margiotta-Casaluci Luigi, Owen Stewart F, Tyler Charles R
Biosciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QD, UK.
Department of Analytical, Environmental & Forensic Sciences, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 9NH, UK.
Environ Int. 2022 Apr;162:107163. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107163. Epub 2022 Feb 28.
The glucocorticosteroid, or glucocorticoid (GC), system is largely conserved across vertebrates and plays a central role in numerous vital physiological processes including bone development, immunomodulation, and modification of glucose metabolism and the induction of stress-related behaviours. As a result of their wide-ranging actions, synthetic GCs are widely prescribed for numerous human and veterinary therapeutic purposes and consequently have been detected extensively within the aquatic environment. Synthetic GCs designed for humans are pharmacologically active in non-mammalian vertebrates, including fish, however they are generally detected in surface waters at low (ng/L) concentrations. In this review, we assess the potential environmental risk of synthetic GCs to fish by comparing available experimental data and effect levels in fish with those in mammals. We found the majority of compounds were predicted to have insignificant risk to fish, however some compounds were predicted to be of moderate and high risk to fish, although the dataset of compounds used for this analysis was small. Given the common mode of action and high level of inter-species target conservation exhibited amongst the GCs, we also give due consideration to the potential for mixture effects, which may be particularly significant when considering the potential for environmental impact from this class of pharmaceuticals. Finally, we also provide recommendations for further research to more fully understand the potential environmental impact of this relatively understudied group of commonly prescribed human and veterinary drugs.
糖皮质类固醇，即糖皮质激素（GC）系统在脊椎动物中基本保守，在众多重要生理过程中发挥核心作用，包括骨骼发育、免疫调节、葡萄糖代谢调节以及应激相关行为的诱导。由于其广泛的作用，合成糖皮质激素被广泛用于众多人类和兽医治疗目的，因此在水生环境中被广泛检测到。为人类设计的合成糖皮质激素在包括鱼类在内的非哺乳动物脊椎动物中具有药理活性，然而它们通常在地表水中以低（纳克/升）浓度被检测到。在本综述中，我们通过比较鱼类和哺乳动物的现有实验数据及效应水平，评估合成糖皮质激素对鱼类的潜在环境风险。我们发现大多数化合物预计对鱼类风险不大，但一些化合物预计对鱼类具有中度和高度风险，尽管用于此分析的化合物数据集较小。鉴于糖皮质激素之间常见的作用模式和物种间靶点高度保守，我们也适当考虑了混合效应的可能性，在考虑这类药物对环境影响的可能性时，这种效应可能尤为显著。最后，我们还为进一步研究提供建议，以更全面地了解这类相对研究较少的常用人类和兽用药物的潜在环境影响。
