Characterization of cytochrome P4501A induction in medaka (Oryzias latipes) by samples generated from the extraction and processing of coal.

The objective of this study was to characterize cytochrome P4501A induction in medaka liver as a biomarker for detecting polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-type compounds in samples of processed coal or petroleum. Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in individual medaka livers was used to asses induction of P4501A following the addition of various samples to aquaria water. Samples included a known P4501A inducer, beta-naphthoflavone, and various processed coal samples, as well as a petroleum-pitch. The sensitivity of detecting significant EROD induction by adding samples to aquaria water was approximately 0.1 mg/L for most samples; however, a coal-tar pitch significantly increased EROD activity at 0.01 mg/L. Different samples induced EROD activity to different extents. All samples elicited a concentration-dependent increase in EROD activity, with maximum EROD induction 2 days after a single administration of xenobiotics to aquaria water. Western blot studies established that induction of EROD activity by all xenobiotics tested was associated with corresponding increased amounts of immunoreactive P4501A. EROD induction was not influenced by gender, by single or multiple xenobiotic exposures, nor by feeding or fasting animals during the course of xenobiotic exposure. The ability of xenobiotics to induce EROD activity in medaka liver did not always correlate with their genotoxic potential determined by bacterial mutagenesis assays. Induction of P4501A in medaka liver appears to provide a convenient, economical, reliable and sensitive indicator for the presence of PAH-type compounds in coal- or petroleum-derived samples.