title: Assessment of the environmental quality of coastal sediments by using a combination of in vitro bioassays.
abstract: The environmental quality of marine sediments collected in the area of influence of the Po and Danube Rivers was assessed by using a battery of bioassays based on the use of PLHC-1 cells, zebrafish-Pxr-transfected COS-7 cells, and sea bass ovarian subcellular fractions. This allowed the determination of multiple endpoints, namely, cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, induction of CYP1A, activation of zebrafish Pxr and inhibition of ovarian aromatase. Organic extracts of sediments influenced by the Danube River and collected near harbors and urban discharges showed significant cytotoxicity, CYP1A induction and inhibition of aromatase activity. An analogous response of CYP1A induction and zfPxr activation was observed, which suggests the existence of common ligands of AhR and PXR in the sediment extracts. The study highlights the usefulness of the selected bioassays to identify those sediments that could pose a risk to aquatic organisms and that require further action in order to improve their environmental quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pérez-Albaladejo
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rizzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lille-Langøy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Odd André
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Karlsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goksøyr
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Marine Research and Development 'Grigore Antipa', Constanta, Romania.
authors.forename: Andra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oros
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research council, ISMAR-CNR, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Spagnoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: cinta.porte@cid.csic.es.
authors.forename: Cinta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Porte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D059038:Black Sea; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D007558:Italy; D045483:Rivers; D012383:Romania; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Biomonitoring; CYP1A induction; Cytotoxicity; PLHC-1 cells; PXR agonists; Sediments