@article {127, title = {Screening of House Dust from Chinese Homes for Chemicals with Liver X Receptors Binding Activities and Characterization of Atherosclerotic Activity Using an Macrophage Cell Line and Mice.}, journal = {Environ Health Perspect}, volume = {127}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 11}, pages = {117003}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death worldwide, and environmental pollutants are increasingly recognized as risk factors for atherosclerosis. Liver X receptors (LXRs) play a central role in atherosclerosis; however, LXR activity of organic pollutants and associated potential risk of atherosclerosis have not yet been characterized.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore whether LXR-antagonistic chemicals are present in indoor house dust and, if so, to characterize this activity in relation to changes in macrophages and cardiovascular disease indicators in an atherosclerosis mouse model.

METHODS: We used a -down assay and a nontarget high-resolution mass spectrometry method to screen house dust collected from Chinese homes for - and -antagonist activity. A chemical identified in this manner was assessed for its ability to induce cholesterol efflux and foam cell formation in RAW264.7 macrophages, to down-regulate the expression of two LXR-dependent genes, and , and finally to induce atherosclerotic lesions using an mouse model.

RESULTS: We identified the flame retardants triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) and 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) in house dust samples and demonstrated their ability to antagonize LXRs. The potency of TPHP was similar to that of the LXR-antagonist SR9238. TPHP could also inhibit cholesterol efflux and promote foam cell formation in RAW264.7 macrophages and mouse peritoneal macrophages and significantly promoted atherosclerotic lesion formation in the mouse model.

CONCLUSIONS: We found LXR-antagonist chemicals in environmental samples of indoor dust from Chinese homes. One of the chemicals, TPHP, was able to promote the development of atherosclerotic lesions in the mouse model. These results highlight the need to assess the LXR-antagonist activities of pollutants in future environmental management programs. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5039.

}, keywords = {Air Pollutants, Air Pollution, Indoor, Animals, Atherosclerosis, China, Dust, Liver X Receptors, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, ApoE, RAW 264.7 Cells}, issn = {1552-9924}, doi = {10.1289/EHP5039}, author = {Hu, Wenxin and Jia, Yingting and Kang, Qiyue and Peng, Hui and Ma, Haojia and Zhang, Shiyi and Hiromori, Youhei and Kimura, Tomoki and Nakanishi, Tsuyoshi and Zheng, Lemin and Qiu, Yifu and Zhang, Zhaobin and Wan, Yi and Hu, Jianying} } @article {88, title = {Simultaneous determination of (N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol)-based phosphate diester and triester and their biotransformation to perfluorooctanesulfonate in freshwater sediments.}, journal = {Environ Pollut}, volume = {234}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Mar}, pages = {821-829}, abstract = {

While (N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol)-based phosphates (SAmPAPs) have been proposed as a group of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) precursors, investigation of their occurrence and fate has been limited to SAmPAP diester. In this study, SAmPAP diester and triester were simultaneously determined in freshwater sediment from Taihu Lake using a newly developed UPLC-MS/MS method, and their biotransformation to PFOS in lake sediment was investigated. SAmPAP diester and triester were detected in sediments with a detection frequency of 56\% and 88\%, and their mean concentrations were 0.24\ {\textpm}\ 0.11\ ng/g dry weight (dw) and 0.12\ {\textpm}\ 0.03\ ng/g dw, respectively. The SAmPAP diester/triester ratio in sediment was 1.1\ {\textpm}\ 4.2, much lower than that (6.7) observed in the technical product, and the positive correlation was found between the concentrations of SAmPAP diester and PFOS in sediments (r\ =\ 0.45, p\ =\ 0.01), suggesting that SAmPAP diester would be biotransformed to PFOS in the lake sediment. The microbial degradation test in the lake sediments further clarified that SAmPAP diester was biodegraded to PFOS, but SAmPAP triester was highly recalcitrant to microbial degradation. This study suggests that the occurrence of SAmPAP diester in freshwater lake sediments may be an important precursor of PFOS.

}, keywords = {Alkanesulfonic Acids, Bacteria, Biodegradation, Environmental, Biotransformation, China, Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbons, Geologic Sediments, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, Lakes, Organophosphates, Sulfonamides, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1873-6424}, doi = {10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.021}, author = {Zhang, Shiyi and Peng, Hui and Mu, Di and Zhao, Haoqi and Hu, Jianying} } @article {91, title = {Detection, Occurrence, and Fate of Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants.}, journal = {Environ Sci Technol}, volume = {51}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Aug 15}, pages = {8953-8961}, abstract = {

Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) are the most well-known precursors of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), but limited information is available on their occurrence and fate in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The occurrence of FTOHs was investigated in influent, secondary effluent, and sludge of 12 municipal WWTPs in nine cities of China. FTOHs were detected in all WWTPs, and 8:2 FTOH was the predominant congener, with concentrations of 2.10-11.0 ng/L, 3.05-12.4 ng/L, and 0.36-1.91 ng/g dry weight in the influent, secondary effluent, and sludge, respectively. Relatively high proportions of long-chain FTOHs (C) were mainly detected in sludge samples. The mass balance of FTOHs and PFCAs in one of the WWTPs with an anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process was further explored. The decrease of mass loads was observed for 4:2 FTOH (mass change percentage: 21 {\textpm} 3.3\%), 8:2 FTOH (22 {\textpm} 1.5\%), and 10:2 FTOH (29 {\textpm} 7.3\%) through aerobic treatment, while the increase of mass loads was observed for 12 PFCAs from 18 {\textpm} 16\% (perfluorononanoic acid) to 165 {\textpm} 15\% (perfluorobutyric acid)), suggesting the potential biotransformation of FTOHs to PFCAs in the aerobic unit. This work provides the first report on the occurrence of FTOHs in sludge samples of municipal WWTPs and their mass balance and highlights a new emission route to environment via WWTPs.

}, keywords = {Alcohols, China, Cities, Fluorocarbons, Sewage, Waste Water}, issn = {1520-5851}, doi = {10.1021/acs.est.7b00315}, author = {Chen, Hongrui and Peng, Hui and Yang, Min and Hu, Jianying and Zhang, Yu} } @article {108, title = {Isomer-specific trophic transfer of perfluorocarboxylic acids in the marine food web of Liaodong Bay, North China.}, journal = {Environ Sci Technol}, volume = {49}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Feb 03}, pages = {1453-61}, abstract = {

Trophic transfers of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) have been well studied in aquatic food webs; however, most studies examined PFCAs as single compounds without differentiating isomers. In this study, an in-port derivatization GC-MS method was used to determine PFCA (perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA; perfluorononanoic acid, PFNA; perfluorodecanoate acid, PFDA; perfluoroundecanoate acid, PFUnDA; perfluorododecanoate acid, PFDoDA; perfluorotridecanoate acid, PFTriDA, and perfluorotetradecanoate acid, PFTeDA) structural isomers in 11 marine species including benthic invertebrates, fishes, and gulls collected in November 2006 from Liaodong Bay in China. The total concentrations of linear PFCAs were 0.35-1.10, 0.93-2.61, and 2.13-2.69 ng/g ww, and the corresponding percentages of branched PFCAs to linear PFCAs were 6.6-15.5\%, 4.2-9.9\%, and 4.5-6.0\% in invertebrates, fishes, and birds, respectively. Except for linear PFOA, significant positive relationships were found between the concentrations of all the target linear PFCAs and trophic levels, and the trophic magnification factors (TMFs) ranged from 1.90 to 4.88. Positive correlations between the concentrations of branched PFCAs isomers and trophic levels were also observed but were without statistical significance. The relatively high biomagnification of linear isomers of PFCAs would lead to low percentages of branched PFCAs to total PFCAs in organisms at high trophic levels. This study for the first time clarified isomer-specific trophic transfers of PFCAs in a marine food web.

}, keywords = {Animals, Bays, Birds, Carboxylic Acids, China, Environmental Monitoring, Fishes, Fluorocarbons, Food Chain, Invertebrates, Isomerism, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1520-5851}, doi = {10.1021/es504445x}, author = {Zhang, Zhong and Peng, Hui and Wan, Yi and Hu, Jianying} } @article {110, title = {Occurrences of three classes of antibiotics in a natural river basin: association with antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli.}, journal = {Environ Sci Technol}, volume = {48}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Dec 16}, pages = {14317-25}, abstract = {

To investigate the occurrence of antibiotics in urban rivers and their association with antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli, 20 (fluoro)quinolone antibiotics (FQs), 16 tetracycline antibiotics (TCs) and their degradation products, and 25 sulfonamides (SAs) and some degradation products were determined in 45 river samples and 13 discharged wastewater samples collected from Wenyu River and its tributaries and 4 composite effluent samples from sewage treatment plants in Beijing, China. Fifteen FQs, eight TCs, including four degradation chemicals, and sixteen SAs, including four acetylated products, were detected in the river water. The SAs were the dominant antibiotic (total concentrations up to 3164.0 ng/L) in river water, followed by FQs (1430.3 ng/L) and TCs (296.6 ng/L). The sum concentrations for each class of detected antibiotic in the 13 discharge site samples were higher than those in river samples, up to 12326.7 ng/L for SAs, 6589.2 ng/L for FQs, and 730.1 ng/L for TCs, largely contributing to the high concentrations in the river basin. Log-linear regression analysis confirmed that the concentrations of FQs, TCs, and SAs in the Wenyu River basin were strongly correlated with the number of E. coli resistant to FQs (p \< 0.05), TCs (p \< 0.05), and SAs (p \< 0.05), providing evidence for the environmental impacts of antibiotic usage.

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, China, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Environmental Monitoring, Escherichia coli, Fluoroquinolones, Rivers, Sulfonamides, Tetracyclines, Waste Water, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1520-5851}, doi = {10.1021/es503700j}, author = {Zhang, Qinqin and Jia, Ai and Wan, Yi and Liu, Hong and Wang, Kunping and Peng, Hui and Dong, Zhaomin and Hu, Jianying} } @article {111, title = {Trophic transfer of dechloranes in the marine food web of Liaodong Bay, north China.}, journal = {Environ Sci Technol}, volume = {48}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 May 20}, pages = {5458-66}, abstract = {

Dechloranes are of particular concern because of their ubiquity in environmental matrices, but little is known about their trophic transfer in aquatic food web. This study investigated the trophic transfer of seven dechloranes in a marine food web from Liaodong Bay, China. Dechloranes were determined in sediments and 15 marine species including benthic invertebrates, fish and gulls collected from Liaodong Bay. Biomagnification factors (BMFTL) of dechloranes in black-headed gulls were calculated to be 6.4, 1.7, 0.45, 0.36, 0.14, and 0.11 for mirex, Dechlorane 602 (Dec 602), Dechlorane 603 (Dec 603), antiundecachloropentacyclooctadecadiene (anti-Cl11DP), syn-dechlorane plus (syn-DP), and anti-DP. Significantly positive relationships were found between lipid equivalent concentrations of mirex, Dec 602, and anti-Cl11DP and trophic levels, and the trophic magnification factors (TMFs) were 13, 3.7, and 5.6, respectively, indicating that these compounds undergo trophic magnification in the aquatic food web. Lipid equivalent concentrations of Dec 603 and DP isomers did not exhibit a statistically significant correlation with trophic levels. The relatively low trophic magnification potentials of Dec 603 and DP isomers were possibly due to their extreme hydrophobicity (logKOW: 11.2-11.3) and subsequent low bioavailabilities compared with mirex (7.0), Dec 602 (8.1) and anti-Cl11DP. The results provided important information for understanding the ecological risk of dechloranes.

}, keywords = {Animals, Aquatic Organisms, Bays, Charadriiformes, China, Environmental Monitoring, Fishes, Food Chain, Geologic Sediments, Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated, Invertebrates, Ontario, Regression Analysis, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1520-5851}, doi = {10.1021/es500229y}, author = {Peng, Hui and Wan, Yi and Zhang, Kun and Sun, Jianxian and Hu, Jianying} } @article {114, title = {Derivatization method for sensitive determination of fluorotelomer alcohols in sediment by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.}, journal = {J Chromatogr A}, volume = {1288}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 May 03}, pages = {48-53}, abstract = {

Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) are the main precursors of environmentally ubiquitous perfluorinated acids, and determination of FTOHs at low concentrations presents significant challenges. In this study, a new liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method in conjunction with low-energy collision dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (CID-MS/MS) was developed by employing an optimized derivatization reaction with dansyl chloride (DNS) in acetonitrile under catalysis of 4-(dimethylamino)-pyridine (DMAP). The instrument detection limits (IDLs) of the newly developed method were 0.014, 0.015, 0.014, 0.0075 and 0.0093μg/L for 4:2 FTOH, 6:2 FTOH, 8:2 FTOH, 10:1 FTOH and 10:2 FTOH respectively, which were 7.5-241 times lower than those without derivatizaiton and 57-357 times lower than previous GC/MS method. The method was successfully applied to analyze FTOHs in sediments combined with WAX and silica cartridges cleanup. The overall method recoveries were from 67{\textpm}6.0\% to 83{\textpm}9.4\% with matrix effects of \<15\%. The limits of quantification for all FTOHs were 0.017-0.060ng/gdry weight (dw). The method was applied to analyze six marine sediment samples from Liaodong Bay, China. All FTOHs except for 10:1 FTOH were detected, and the total concentrations of FTOHs were 0.19-0.52ng/gdw. The developed method provides a new method to sensitively determine FTOHs in environmental matrices.

}, keywords = {Alcohols, China, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Environmental Pollutants, Fluorocarbons, Geologic Sediments, Reproducibility of Results, Sensitivity and Specificity, Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization, Tandem Mass Spectrometry}, issn = {1873-3778}, doi = {10.1016/j.chroma.2013.02.085}, author = {Peng, Hui and Hu, Kejun and Zhao, Fanrong and Hu, Jianying} } @article {121, title = {Molecular and physiological characterization of fluoroquinolone resistance in relation to uropathogenicity among Escherichia coli isolates isolated from Wenyu River, China.}, journal = {Chemosphere}, volume = {87}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Mar}, pages = {37-42}, abstract = {

Increasing antibacterial resistance and pathogenicity in the environment is of growing concern due to its potential human risk. In the present study, 236 Escherichia coli isolates were collected from Wenyu River in China on drugless (48 isolates) and quinolone-containing plates (189 isolates). Their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined ranging from 0.125 μg mL(-1) to 128 μg mL(-1). Mutation points related to fluoroquinolone resistance were observed at S83 to L and D87 to N or Y in the GyrA subunit and S80 to R or I and E84 to G in the ParC subunit. Generally, MICs of LEV and GAT are dependent on the patterns of these mutation points. The profile with three mutation points was related to LEV-resistant E. coli isolates, and the (S83L, D87N+S80I) mutation profile was most prevalent (65.7\%) in LEV-resistant isolates, while a large proportion of isolates, even those with three mutation points, were susceptive to GAT. The incidence of virulence factors in LEV-resistant isolates (44.7\%, 59/132) was much higher than in nonresistant isolates (23.1\%, 24/104) (χ(2)=11.925, 1{\textdegree} of freedom, p\<0.001) indicating that fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli would pose a potential risk. A similar distribution was also found in isolates resistant to GAT (χ(2)=7.843, 1{\textdegree} of freedom, p=0.0079).

}, keywords = {Anti-Bacterial Agents, China, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Escherichia coli, Fluoroquinolones, Rivers, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1879-1298}, doi = {10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.11.050}, author = {Sun, Jianxian and Hu, Jianying and Peng, Hui and Shi, Jiachen and Dong, Zhaomin} } @article {116, title = {Simultaneous determination of mono- and disubstituted polyfluoroalkyl phosphates in drinking water by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.}, journal = {J Chromatogr A}, volume = {1227}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Mar 02}, pages = {245-52}, abstract = {

A sensitive liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was established for the simultaneous determination of five monosubstituted polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (monoPAPs) and eight disubstituted polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (diPAPs) in drinking water. Complete separation and good retention for 13 polyfluoroalkyls phosphates (PAPs) were achieved with a Waters ACUITY UPLC BEH C8 column using a mixture of methanol/water containing 0.1\% NH$_{4}$OH as the mobile phases. Extraction of drinking water samples was performed on weak anion exchange (WAX) cartridges, and the recoveries of target compounds were from 65 to 110\%. The limits of quantization (LOQs) for 13 analytes were in the range of 0.4-40 ng/L. This method was applied to analyze the PAPs in drinking water samples from three cities in China. Of the 13 PAPs, six PAPs including 6:2 monoPAP (13.0 ng/L), 8:2 monoPAP (3.6 ng/L), 10:1 monoPAP (4.3-70.3 ng/L), 10:2 monoPAP (1.4-5.6 ng/L), 8:2 diPAP (0.10 ng/L), and 10:1 diPAP (0.8-3.8 ng/L) were detected.

}, keywords = {China, Chromatography, Ion Exchange, Drinking Water, Fluorocarbons, Phosphates, Reproducibility of Results, Sensitivity and Specificity, Solid Phase Extraction, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1873-3778}, doi = {10.1016/j.chroma.2012.01.004}, author = {Ding, Huanhuan and Peng, Hui and Yang, Min and Hu, Jianying} } @article {115, title = {Tissue distribution, maternal transfer, and age-related accumulation of dechloranes in Chinese sturgeon.}, journal = {Environ Sci Technol}, volume = {46}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Sep 18}, pages = {9907-13}, abstract = {

While dechloranes have been detected in environmental media and wildlife, limited information was available on their tissue distribution in wildlife. Syn-dechlorane plus (syn-DP), anti-DP, syn-undecachloropentacyclooctadecadiene (syn-Cl(11)DP), anti-Cl(11)DP, dechlorane 602, dechlorane 603 and mirex were measured in 13 organs of 17 female Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis). Dechloranes were detected in all tissues and the highest concentrations of total dechloranes were detected in heart (87 pg/g ww, 4.5-645 pg/g ww), followed by adipose (61 pg/g ww, 14-531 pg/g ww) and eggs (57 pg/g ww, 13-261 pg/g ww). The tissue distribution of DP was mainly determined by lipid partition, while Dec 602 and Dec 603 preferred to accumulate in the intestine and stomach. The values of f(anti) (the concentration of anti-DP relative to the sum concentration of DP) in maternal tissues (0.72 {\textpm} 0.03 in muscle) were significantly higher than those found in eggs (0.65 {\textpm} 0.04) (p \< 0.001), while f(anti-Cl11DP) (the concentration of anti-Cl(11)DP relative to the sum concentration of Cl(11)DP) in maternal tissues (0.59 {\textpm} 0.10 in muscle) was significantly lower than that in eggs (0.75 {\textpm} 0.13) (p \< 0.05). High maternal transfer efficiencies of dechloranes were observed in eggs, which accounted for 49\% of the total body burden, and the ratios of concentrations in eggs to maternal tissues (EMR) for mirex, Dec 602, Dec 603, syn-Cl(11)DP, anti-Cl(11)DP, syn-DP, and anti-DP were 18, 8.8, 5.2, 2.6, 5.2, 5.5 and 3.7, respectively, which are dependent on their K(OW) values (r = -0.66, p \< 0.01). Negative age-related trends were observed for mirex, Dec 603, syn-Cl(11)DP and anti-Cl(11)DP in eggs (R(2) = 0.28-0.38, p = 0.02-0.05), which were possibly due to their high transfer efficiencies to eggs from maternal body (49\%).

}, keywords = {Animals, China, Eggs, Environmental Monitoring, Female, Fishes, Flame Retardants, Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated, Polycyclic Compounds, Tissue Distribution, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1520-5851}, doi = {10.1021/es3025879}, author = {Peng, Hui and Zhang, Kun and Wan, Yi and Hu, Jianying} } @article {117, title = {Occurrence and source apportionment of sulfonamides and their metabolites in Liaodong Bay and the adjacent Liao River basin, North China.}, journal = {Environ Toxicol Chem}, volume = {30}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Jun}, pages = {1252-60}, abstract = {

The presence of antibiotics in the environment is of great concern because of their potential for resistance selection among pathogens. In the present study we investigated the occurrence of 19 sulfonamides, five N-acetylated sulfonamide metabolites, and trimethoprim in the Liao River basin and adjacent Liaodong Bay, China, as well as 10 human/agricultural source samples. Within the 35 river samples, 12 sulfonamides, four acetylated sulfonamides, and trimethoprim were detected, with the dominant being sulfamethoxazole (66.6 ng/L), N-acetylsulfamethoxazole (63.1 ng/L), trimethoprim (29.0 ng/L), sulfadiazine (14.0 ng/L), and sulfamonomethoxine (8.4 ng/L); within the 36 marine samples, 10 chemicals were detected, with the main contributions from sulfamethoxazole (25.2 ng/L) and N-acetylsulfamethoxazole (28.6 ng/L). Sulfamethoxazole (25.9\%), N-acetylsulfamethoxazole (46.6\%), trimethoprim (22.9\%), and sulfapyridine (1.4\%) were the main chemicals from human sources, while sulfamonomethoxine, sulfamethazine, sulfaquinoxaline, sulfaguanidine, sulfadiazine, sulfanilamide, and sulfamethoxypyridazine were dominant in the animal husbandry sources, specifically, swine and poultry farms, and sulfamethoxazole (91\%) was dominant in the mariculture source. A principal component analysis with multiple linear regression was performed to evaluate the source apportionment of total sulfonamides in Liaodong Bay. It was found that animal husbandry contributed 15.2\% of total sulfonamides, while human sources contributed 28.5\%, and combined human and mariculture sources contributed 56.3\%. In addition, the mariculture contribution was 24.1\% of total sulfonamides into the sea based on mass flux estimation. The present study is the first report that the environmental levels of sulfonamide metabolites were comparable to the corresponding parents; therefore, we should pay attention to their environmental occurrence. Source apportionment showed human discharge (60.7\%) significantly contributed to these antibiotics in Liaodong Bay, which provides important information for environmental management.

}, keywords = {Agriculture, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Aquaculture, China, Environmental Monitoring, Humans, Linear Models, Principal Component Analysis, Rivers, Seawater, Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization, Sulfamethazine, Sulfamethoxazole, Sulfamethoxypyridazine, Sulfamonomethoxine, Sulfapyridine, Sulfaquinoxaline, Sulfonamides, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Trimethoprim, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Water Pollution, Chemical}, issn = {1552-8618}, doi = {10.1002/etc.508}, author = {Jia, Ai and Hu, Jianying and Wu, Xiaoqin and Peng, Hui and Wu, Shimin and Dong, Zhaomin} } @article {118, title = {Determination and occurrence of retinoic acids and their 4-oxo metabolites in Liaodong Bay, China, and its adjacent rivers.}, journal = {Environ Toxicol Chem}, volume = {29}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Nov}, pages = {2491-7}, abstract = {

Retinoic acids (RAs) and their metabolites play an important role in abnormal morphological development and are speculated to be a possible cause for the increased rates of deformities in wild frog populations. In the current study, a method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for simultaneously analyzing all-trans-RA (at-RA), 13-cis-RA (13c-RA), 9-cis-RA (9c-RA), and their 4-oxo metabolites, all-trans-4-oxo-RA (at-4-oxo-RA), 13-cis-4-oxo-RA (13c-4-oxo-RA), and 9-cis-4-oxo-RA (9c-4-oxo-RA) in wastewaters and surface waters. Method detection limits were matrix dependent, ranging from 0.02 to 0.37 ng/L. The method was used to investigate the occurrence of RAs and 4-oxo-RAs in Liaodong Bay and its adjacent rivers. Of these six retinoids, at-RA, 13c-RA, at-4-oxo-RA, and 13c-4-oxo-RA were detected in river waters at detection frequencies of 100\%, 92\%, 48.6\%, and 21.6\%, and concentrations of 0.05 to 1.23 ng/L, less than 0.03 to 0.41 ng/L, less than 0.02 to 1.00 ng/L, and less than 0.06 to 0.81 ng/L, respectively. Retinoic acids were detected for the first time in the aquatic environment and were found to be more persistent than 4-oxo-RAs. The hazard quotient for mortality of frog embryos caused by induction by retinoids detected in the current study was then estimated, and the value was calculated to be 0.09. No retinoid was detected in seawaters.

}, keywords = {China, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Rivers, Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization, Stereoisomerism, Tretinoin, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1552-8618}, doi = {10.1002/etc.322}, author = {Wu, Xiaoqin and Hu, Jianying and Jia, Ai and Peng, Hui and Wu, Shimin and Dong, Zhaomin} } @article {120, title = {Malformations of the endangered Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis, and its causal agent.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {106}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Jun 09}, pages = {9339-44}, abstract = {

The anadromous Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) is endangered and listed among the first class of protected animals in China. The possible causes for the decline of this species are the effects of synthetic chemicals, and loss of critical habitat. Chinese sturgeon in the Yangtze River have accumulated triphenyltin (TPT) to 31-128 ng/g wet weigh (ww) in liver, which is greater than the concentrations of tributyltin (\<1.0 ng/g ww). Maternal transfer of TPT has resulted in concentrations of 25.5 +/- 13.0 ng/g ww in eggs of wild Chinese sturgeon, which poses a significant risk to the larvae naturally fertilized or hatched in the Yangtze River. The incidence of deformities in fry was 7.5\%, with 1.2\% of individuals exhibiting ocular abnormal development, and 6.3\% exhibited skeletal/morphological deformations. The incidences of both ocular and skeletal/morphological deformations were directly proportional to the TPT concentration in the eggs of both the Chinese sturgeon and the Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) in controlled laboratory studies. The rates of deformities in the controlled studies were consistent with the rates caused at the similar concentrations in eggs collected from the field. Thus, TPT is the causal agent to induce the malformation of larvae of Chinese sturgeon. The incidence of deformed larvae of Chinese sturgeon is an indicator of overall population-level effects of TPT on Chinese sturgeon, because TPT at environmentally relevant concentrations can result in significantly decrease both quality and quantity of eggs and spawning frequency of fish.

}, keywords = {Animals, China, Fishes, Organotin Compounds, Trialkyltin Compounds, Water Pollutants, Chemical}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.0809434106}, author = {Hu, Jianying and Zhang, Zhaobin and Wei, Qiwei and Zhen, Huajun and Zhao, Yanbin and Peng, Hui and Wan, Yi and Giesy, John P and Li, Luoxin and Zhang, Bo} }