Removal Of Estrogenic Activity Research Articles

Removal of estrogenic activity from municipal waste landfill leachate assessed with a bioassay based on reporter gene expression.

The leachate of a municipal waste landfill was tested for estrogenic activity using a reporter-gene-based bioassay with a human breast-cancer-derived cell line (MVLN cells). The leachate was processed with two different membrane-employing processes operating in parallel. One process consists of aerobic biological degradation, ultrafiltration, and subsequent adsorption to activated carbon. The second process was a reverse osmosis treatment of the raw leachate. Both processes are common in the treatment of landfill leachate. Here, the efficacy of the two processes to remove "estrogenicity" was compared. Both treatment processes removed more than 97% of the estrogenic activity, calculated as estradiol equivalents (EEQs), but they were not equally effective. After adsorption to activated carbon, no estrogenicity was detected, whereas concentrated effluent of the reverse osmosis treatment still elicited an estrogenic response in the bioassay. On the basis of chemical analysis, it is proposed that bisphenol A was responsible for the majority of estrogenic activity in the raw and treated leachate. Although the contribution of treated leachate to the estrogenic load on the aquatic environment seems to be low compared to that of sewage treatment works, the high estrogenic activity in raw landfill leachate stresses the necessity for the appropriate treatment of these leachates.

Removal of estrogenic activities of 17 β-estradiol and ethinylestradiol by ligninolytic enzymes from white rot fungi

We investigated whether manganese peroxidase (MnP) and the laccase-mediator system with 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT) as mediator can remove the estrogenic activities of the steroidal hormones 17 β-estradiol (E 2) and ethinylestradiol (EE 2). Using the yeast two-hybrid assay system, we confirmed that the estrogenic activities of E 2 and EE 2 are much higher than those of bisphenol A and nonylphenol. Greater than 80% of the estrogenic activities of E 2 and EE 2 were removed following 1-h treatment with MnP or the laccase-HBT system; extending the treatment time to 8 h removed the remaining estrogenic activity of both steroidal hormones. HPLC analysis demonstrated that E 2 and EE 2 had disappeared almost completely in the reaction mixture after a 1-h treatment. These results strongly suggest that these ligninolytic enzymes are effective in removing the estrogenic activities of E 2 and EE 2.

Reduction of estrogenic activity of municipal wastewater by aerated lagoon treatment facilities

The estrogenic activity of municipal wastewater in aerated lagoon treatment facilities was evaluated using plasma concentrations of vitellogenin (Vtg) in male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Caged fathead minnows were exposed for 10 to 12 d in three lagoons that are connected in series at each of 10 municipal wastewater treatment facilities in central Iowa, USA, during October and November 2000. Fathead minnows held in the laboratory served as unexposed controls. Pooled (n = 4-10 fish) plasma Vtg, quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was 1,702 +/- 670 (mean +/- standard error [SE]) microg/ml in the first lagoons (n = 9), 0.94 +/- 0.36 microg/ml in the second lagoons (n = 10), and 0.04 +/- 0.02 microg/ml in the third lagoons (n = 8). Differences in mean fish plasma Vtg concentration among lagoons were highly significant (p < 0.001). The mean concentration of plasma Vtg in fish in the third lagoons was not significantly different (p = 0.990) from that of the control fish (0.04 +/- 0.02 microg/ml). Plasma Vtg concentrations of fish in the first lagoons were inversely correlated with wastewater retention time in the lagoons (p = 0.002, r = -0.877). Water temperatures of the final effluents during the study ranged from 9 to 12 degrees C. General treatment efficiency of lagoons has been shown to be dependent on temperature, so the potential exists for decreased removal of estrogenic activity when water temperatures are lower (e.g., winter months) than the present study. In conclusion, wastewater entering aerated lagoon systems was estrogenic to fish, but with serial passage through the lagoons, the estrogenic activity decreased to a level that was not sufficient to induce vitellogenesis in male fathead minnows in a 10- to 12-d exposure.

Removal of estrogenic activities of bisphenol A and nonylphenol by oxidative enzymes from lignin-degrading basidiomycetes

Bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) were treated with manganese peroxidase (MnP) and laccase prepared from the culture of lignin-degrading fungi. Laccase in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT), the so-called laccase-mediator system, was also applied to remove the estrogenic activity. Both chemicals disappeared in the reaction mixture within a 1-h treatment with MnP but the estrogenic activities of BPA and NP still remained 40% and 60% in the reaction mixtures after a 1-h and a 3-h treatment, respectively. Extension of the treatment time to 12 h completed the removal of estrogenic activities of BPA and NP. The laccase has less ability to remove these activities than MnP, but the laccase-HBT system was able to remove the activities in 6 h. A gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis revealed that main reaction products of BPA and NP may be oligomers formed by the action of enzymes. Enzymatic treatments extended to 48 h did not regenerate the estrogenic activities, suggesting that the ligninolytic enzymes are effective for the removal of the estrogenic activities of BPA and NP.