Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) are widely used in industrial and household products as surfactants. APEs degrade into more toxic ethoxylates, such as 4-nonylphenol (NP), which has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor and enhance the growth of tumor cells. Nonylphenol is wider spread in Pacific estuaries than originally thought. Organisms in Morro Bay, California contain some of the highest concentrations of NP reported, while containing few other contaminants. As a benthic mud-dwelling fish, the arrow goby (Clevelandia ios) may be exposed to high levels of NP due to high contaminant sequestration rates in anaerobic mud. While ecotoxicology suggests that nonylphenol is in high concentration within C. ios tissues along with tissue level biological abnormalities, the molecular effects of nonylphenol on these fish have yet to be investigated. Utilizing proteomic techniques including two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and subsequent identification via MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry, there is evidence for change in expression of proteins involved in energy metabolism, biotransformation, regulation and cellular structure.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are compounds that can interfere with hormone signaling pathways and are now recognized as pervasive in estuarine and marine waters. One prevalent EDC in California’s coastal waters is the xenoestrogen 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), which has been shown to impair reproduction, development, growth, and in some cases immune function of marine invertebrates. To further investigate effects of 4-NP on marine invertebrate immune function we measured total hemocyte counts (THC), relative transcript abundance of immune-relevant genes, and lysozyme activity in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) following bacterial infection. To quantify these effects we exposed oysters to dissolved phase 4-NP at high (100 μg l-1), low (2 μg l-1), or control (100 μl ethanol) concentrations for 7 days, and then experimentally infected (via injection into the adductor muscle) the oysters with the marine bacterium Vibrio campbellii. 4-NP significantly altered the effects of bacterial infection had on THC. Oysters exposed to both high and low 4-NP did not experience a bacteria-induced increase in THC, as seen in control oysters. We also determined that V. campbellii infection induced differential expression of a subset of immune-related genes tested (Cg-bigdef2, Cg-bpi1, Cg-lys1, Cg-timp) in some, but not all, tissues; 4-NP exposure altered expression patterns in two of these genes (Cg-bpi1 and Cg-tgase). Exposure to 4-NP alone also caused differential expression in some genes (Cg-bpi1, Cg-galectin1, Cg-clec2). Lastly, low levels of 4-NP significantly increased lysozyme activity 24 h post-infection. These results suggest that exposure to 4-NP can alter both cellular and humoral immune responses to bacterial infection in C. gigas.

Hormonaly active compounds in wastewaters represent nowdays a serious problem. Proceses currently used in watewater treatment plants (WWTP) are unefficient in removing these compounds from contaminated wastewaters. The compounds are supposed to sorb onto solid sludge elements and sediments. In this work seven endocrine disruptors were detected in the sludge samples from WWTPs. A new sensitive method for detection of seven selected endocrine disruptors (4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, estriol, 17β-estradiol, estrone, 17α- ethynylestradiol, irgasan) was developed. The method is based on accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and solid phased extraction. For final extract analysis, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used. The efficiency of this method was tested using artificially contaminated sludge and the method was used to analyse real samples from several WWTPs in Czech Republic. The effect of sludge age on detection of individual analytes was assessed as well. The concentrations of endocrine disruptors measured in the samples reached up to 1 µg/g. The results are comparable or higher then those reported in other works and they show the necessity of further research on endocrine disruptors in the environment.