PH01 Endocrine Disruption
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Thursday, 13 November 2003
(PH027) Evaluation of estrogenic activities in contaminated bay sediments.
Hashimoto, S.1, Watanabe, E.1, Ueda, Y.1, Fujii, K.2, Kakuno, A.2, Shiraishi, F.3, 1 Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan2 National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Saeki, Hiroshima, Japan3 National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
ABSTRACT- Many estrogenic compounds are now found in the environment and appear to affect wildlife. Estrogenic compounds in marine sediments, where they may pollute seawater for years, need to be identified and characterized before we can develop countermeasures. We collected sediment at 3 places in Tokyo Bay. A solvent extract of each sample was fractionated into 10 fractions by normal-phase high performance liquid chromatography to separate compounds by polarity. The fractions were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. We analyzed natural and synthetic estrogens (17
-estradiol (E2 ), estrone (E1 ), ethinylestradiol) and xenoestrogens (4-nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol, bisphenol-A (BPA)). Each fraction was also assayed in vitro with a yeast two-hybrid system and in vivo by measuring their effect on serum vitellogenin levels in Fundulus heteroclitus. We found NP, BPA, E2, and E1 in the sediments. The fractions that contained the mentioned compounds or also other fractions were estrogenic (in vitro assay). Some estrogenic activity was found in fractions that did not correspond to our known estrogenic compounds, so Tokyo Bay sediments may contain unknown estrogenic compounds. Results of the in vivo test were different from those of the in vitro test; the different fractions may be responsible for the induction of serum vitellogenin levels in Fundulus heteroclitus. Thus, in vivo testing is essential for evaluating the effects of pollutants on wildlife.
Key words: Sediment, Estrogenic activity, HPLC fractionation, , Bioassay