title: AhR-active compounds in sediments of the Haihe and Dagu Rivers, China.
abstract: Total concentrations of compounds that can cause activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in extracts of river sediments from various locations in the Haihe and Dagu Rivers, Tianjin, China were determined by use of the in vitro H4IIE-luc cell line. AhR-active compounds were isolated from sediments by Soxhlet extraction, and the crude extracts were fractionated using a Florisil column into three Fractions. The response of samples was compared to the TCDD standard and expressed as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalents (TCDD-EQs). Significant dioxin-like activity was observed in each sample. The TCDD-EQs in crude extracts of sediments (SCEs), as determined with the bioassay were 2-4 times greater than the sum of the TCDD-EQs of the eluent from fractions separated with a Florisil column. The results also showed that Fractions 2 and 3 contained most of the AhR-mediated activity. The results obtained by using the bioassay were compared with those of previous measurements of the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and the structurally-similar AhR-active polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). It was determined that sediments from the Dagu River contained greater concentrations of TCDD-EQ than did sediments from the Haihe River except at Jingangqiao (location R3), which is associated with industrial activities in the adjacent densely populated area. The concentrations of TCDD-EQs, based on the EC20 and the relative potency ranges, of SCEs ranged from 330 to 930 and 1200 to 13,900 pg TCDD-EQ g(-1) dry wt in Haihe and Dagu Rivers, respectively.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Maoyong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Qinting
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hanxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Paul K S
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Desmond K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: O'Toole
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Giesy
authors.forename: Guibin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D002460:Cell Line; D002681:China; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008156:Luciferases