Collaborative Research: Fate and bioavailability of steroidogenic compounds in aquatic sediment

提案标题：合作研究：水生沉积物中类固醇生成化合物的命运和生物利用度主要研究者：Bartelt-Hunt，Shannon; Kolok，Alan研究机构：内布拉斯加大学林肯分校;内布拉斯加大学奥马哈分校提案号：CBET-0966850; CBET-0966858环境暴露于高水平的类固醇与鱼类的负面生殖结果和潜在的人类健康影响有关，包括骨形成缺陷和影响对大脑发育的影响 以往的研究表明，外源类固醇激素会吸附到水生沉积物，但沉积物相关的类固醇激素对水生生物的生物利用度尚不清楚。 私家侦探？初步数据表明，与沉积物有关的类固醇仍然是生物可利用的，而且可能是水生系统中生物可利用的类固醇化合物的主要来源。 拟议的工作是创新的，因为它代表了第一项研究，以探讨如何与沉积物的关联改变类固醇的生物利用度水生生物群。PI将检查负责沉积物中雌激素和雄激素命运和转化的物理和化学因素，以及大型生物接触生物活性类固醇激素的途径。 拟议的研究结果将提供一个更好地了解沉积物中的类固醇转化和生物吸收的作用，并将支持设计有效的缓解策略，在水生系统受类固醇化合物的影响。本申请的目的是研究沉积物在类固醇化合物的环境归宿、转化和生物利用度中所起的作用。 这项研究的中心假设是，沉积物相关的类固醇仍然是生物利用。他们计划通过追求以下三个具体目标来检验其中心假设并实现本申请的目标：（1）确定黑头呆鱼（一种常见的淡水鱼）接触类固醇的途径，（2）评估沉积物中类固醇的物理化学机制，和（3）通过在已知类固醇释放的水生系统中进行的受控实地研究验证其实验室结果。该项目的教育和推广计划侧重于本科生和研究生教育，并向对内分泌干扰化合物感兴趣的区域、国家和国际团体提供信息。 拟议的项目代表了一个研究型大学（内布拉斯加大学林肯分校）和一个主要的本科院校（内布拉斯加大学奥马哈分校）的教师之间的合作研究工作。 概述这项研究的方法和结果的教育模块将被整合到现有的课程，重点是污染物的命运和运输，环境采样方法，并在内布拉斯加大学林肯分校和内布拉斯加大学奥马哈分校的项目研究人员讲授毒理学。 关于环境中激素的研究结果和信息将通过内布拉斯加大学季刊上发表的文章和为非专业观众设计的互动网站传播给废水处理厂运营商。 将通过与生物研究公司和哥伦比亚麦德林的安蒂奥基亚大学的研究生交流方案实现国际推广。

Proposal Title: Collaborative Research: Fate and bioavailability of steroidogenic compounds in aquatic sedimentPrincipal Investigators: Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon; Kolok, AlanInstitutions: University of Nebraska-Lincoln; University of Nebraska-OmahaProposal Nos: CBET-0966850; CBET-0966858 Environmental exposures to elevated levels of steroids have been linked with negative reproductive outcomes in fish and potential human health impacts including defective bone formation and impacts on brain development. Previously-published studies indicate that exogenous steroids will sorb to aquatic sediments, however the bioavailability of sediment-associated steroid hormones to aquatic organisms is not clear. The PIs? preliminary data suggest that sediment-associated steroids remain bioavailable and, moreover, may represent the principle source of bioavailable steroidogenic compounds in aquatic systems. The proposed work is innovative as it represents the first study to examine how association with sediment alters the bioavailability of steroids to aquatic biota. The PIs will examine the physical and chemical factors responsible for estrogen and androgen fate and transformation in sediment as well as the routes by which macroorganisms are exposed to biologically-active steroid hormones. The results of the proposed research will provide a better understanding of the role of sediment in steroid transformation and biologic uptake and will support design of effective mitigation strategies in aquatic systems impacted by steroidogenic compounds. The objective of this application is to examine the role that sediments play in the environmental fate, transformation and bioavailability of steroidogenic compounds. The central hypothesis of this study is that sediment-associated steroids remain bioavailable. They plan to test their central hypothesis and accomplish the objective of this application by pursuing the following three specific aims: (1) determine the exposure routes by which steroids become bioavailable to the fathead minnow, a ubiquitous freshwater fish, (2) evaluate the physicochemical mechanisms governing steroid in sediment, and (3) validate their laboratory results with controlled field studies conducted in aquatic systems with known steroidogenic discharge. The educational and outreach plan for this project is focused on undergraduate and graduate student education as well as providing information to regional, national and international groups with an interest in endocrine-disrupting compounds. The proposed project represents a collaborative research effort between faculty at a research I University (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and a predominantly undergraduate institution (University of Nebraska at Omaha). Educational modules outlining the methods and results of this research will be integrated into existing courses focused on contaminant fate and transport, environmental sampling methods, and toxicology taught by project investigators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Research results and information on hormones in the environment will be disseminated to wastewater treatment plant operators, to the public through articles published in a University of Nebraska quarterly publication and an interactive website designed for a lay audience. International outreach will be achieved through a graduate student exchange program with the Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas and the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Columbia.