title: Bioassay-derived dioxin equivalent concentrations in gonads and livers of the Atlantic cod females from the Baltic Sea.
abstract: The DR-H4IIE.Luc bioassay is based on the ability of dioxin and dioxin-like contaminants to activate the AhR and its signal transduction pathway, a mechanism through which these contaminants elicit their toxic effects. The bioassay was used to examine the total dioxin-equivalent (TEQ) toxicity in gonads and livers of cod females from the southern Baltic Sea. The bioassay-derived TEQ-luc was measured after 24-h and 48-h exposure periods. Mean concentrations in the 24-h bioassay were 95 and 35 pg TEQ-luc g(-1) lipid in gonads and livers, respectively, and 58 and 38 pg TEQ-luc g(-1) lipid in the 48-h bioassay, respectively. The 48-h TEQ-luc levels displayed significant relationships with ΣPCB(7) and selected PCB congeners but not with the TEQ(DLPCB-REP). Levels in gonads approached 10% of the LC50 for developing larvae of other marine fish, yet the impact on survival of the cod during its early life remains to be assessed in a future.
authors.affiliation: Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, Department of Food and Environmental Chemistry, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland. henryka.dabrowska@mir.gdynia.pl
authors.forename: Henryka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dabrowska
authors.forename: Albertinka J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Murk
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: van den Berg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods*; D004147:Dioxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D048389:Gadus morhua / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D006066:Gonads / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011044:Poland; D013997:Time Factors; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical