Abstract
Many studies about endocrine pollution in the aquatic environment reveal changes in the reproduction system of biota. We analysed endocrine activities in two rivers in Southern Germany using three approaches: (1) chemical analyses, (2) in vitro bioassays, and (3) in vivo investigations in fish and snails. Chemical analyses were based on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. For in vitro analyses of endocrine potentials in water, sediment, and waste water samples, we used the E-screen assay (human breast cancer cells MCF-7) and reporter gene assays (human cell line HeLa-9903 and MDA-kb2). In addition, we performed reproduction tests with the freshwater mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum to analyse water and sediment samples. We exposed juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario) to water downstream of a wastewater outfall (Schussen River) or to water from a reference site (Argen River) to investigate the vitellogenin production. Furthermore, two feral fish species, chub (Leuciscus cephalus) and spirlin (Alburnoides bipunctatus), were caught in both rivers to determine their gonadal maturity and the gonadosomatic index. Chemical analyses provided only little information about endocrine active substances, whereas the in vitro assays revealed endocrine potentials in most of the samples. In addition to endocrine potentials, we also observed toxic potentials (E-screen/reproduction test) in waste water samples, which could interfere with and camouflage endocrine effects. The results of our in vivo tests were mostly in line with the results of the in vitro assays and revealed a consistent reproduction-disrupting (reproduction tests) and an occasional endocrine action (vitellogenin levels) in both investigated rivers, with more pronounced effects for the Schussen river (e.g. a lower gonadosomatic index). We were able to show that biological in vitro assays for endocrine potentials in natural stream water reasonably reflect reproduction and endocrine disruption observed in snails and field-exposed fish, respectively.
Highlights
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are substances which can affect the endocrine system by imitating or repressing body’s own hormones
Octylphenol occurred in surface water of the Schussen in concentrations up to 0,098 mg/L [15], which were close to the suggested target value of 0,1 mg/L for endocrine disrupting chemicals [47]
Using a biological and chemical monitoring programme at two German rivers, we investigated whether symptoms of endocrine disruption in feral animals are reflected by results obtained in biological in vitro assays and by chemical analyses
Summary
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are substances which can affect the endocrine system by imitating or repressing body’s own hormones. The present study reports the results on the water quality before the technical improvement of the examined WWTPs and consists of three main parts: chemical analyses of endocrine-active substances, a set of in vitro bioassays, and in vivo tests. These tests are employed to investigate estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, and antiandrogenic potentials and effects (and their temporal variability and trends) in the Schussen and Argen rivers and were jointly applied in view to elucidate the predictive value of chemical analyses or biological in vitro assays for organism-level endocrine effects in field-exposed biota. It was our aim to obtain a more precise and complete evaluation of endocrine activities at the Schussen and Argen rivers; in particular to investigate whether symptoms of endocrine disruption in field-living individuals are reflected by signals from in vitro laboratory assays or by the results derived from a detailed chemical monitoring programme
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