Gonadal differentiation and gene expression patterns in sentinel native fish populations: sensitive indicators of environmental pollutants in Alberta rivers and lakes

人们越来越担心，具有激素样活性的环境污染物会对人类健康和野生动物产生不利影响。环境持久性内分泌干扰化合物（EDC）模仿或阻断天然雌激素、雄激素和甲状腺激素的作用，并被怀疑通过破坏内分泌系统导致人类和野生动物的健康缺陷。EDCs的直接接触可能是通过水、饮食、工业或家用产品。有必要评估EDCs对环境影响的风险，并制定有效和准确的方法来检测现有污水处理厂无法清除的环境污染物。阿尔伯塔环境和我们实验室最近的研究提供了令人震惊的证据，不仅在阿尔伯塔的废水处理厂流出物和接收河流中存在广泛的药物、EDCs和其他有机污染物，而且还改变了阿尔伯塔南部河流中鱼类的发育和繁殖。我们的主要目标是与艾伯塔省环境和联邦机构（加拿大环境部和加拿大渔业和海洋部）合作开展研究，评估艾伯塔省南部河流地表水中存在的环境污染物对鱼类种群和生殖健康的影响，并为找到解决加拿大面临的新问题的办法作出贡献。具体而言，我们建议利用分子内分泌学和生态学的先进技术和新方法，利用激素激活途径、激素受体水平、性发育、细胞增殖和受体报告系统等端点，确定暴露于EDCs导致野外种群生殖损伤的机制。我们建议的研究，连同长期的政府监测，将确定适当的影响评估策略，并将协助制定影响污水处理厂升级的政策，以及药品和化学品的处置程序，以尽量减少对环境的污染和影响。

There is growing concern that environmental contaminants with hormone-like activity adversely influence human health and wildlife. Environmentally persistent endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) mimic or block the effects of natural estrogens, androgens, and thyroid hormones, and are suspected of causing health defects in both humans and wildlife through disruption of the endocrine system. Direct exposure to EDCs may be through water, diet, and industrial or household products. There is a need to evaluate the risk of environmental effects of EDCs and development of effective and accurate methods to detect environmental contaminants, which are not removed by existing sewage treatment plants. Recent studies by Alberta Environment and our laboratories have provided alarming evidence for not only the presence of a broad range of pharmaceuticals, EDCs, and other organic contaminants in wastewater treatment plant effluents and receiving rivers of Alberta, but also alteration of development and reproduction of fish in southern Alberta rivers. Our main objective is toconduct studies in collaboration and cooperation with Alberta Environment and Federal agencies (Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada) to assess the impact of environmental contaminants present in surface waters of southern Alberta rivers on fish population and reproductive health, and make a contribution to finding a solution to an emerging issue facing Canada. Specifically, we propose to exploit advanced techniques and novel approaches in molecular endocrinology and ecology to identify the mechanisms by which exposure to EDCs leads to reproductive impairment of field-based populations using endpoints ranging from hormone-activated pathways, hormone receptor levels, sexual development, cell proliferation, and receptor reporter systems. Our proposed studies, together with longer-term government monitoring, will identifyappropriate impact assessment strategies, and will assist development of policies that will affect sewage treatment plant upgrades, and disposal procedures for pharmaceuticals and chemicals to minimize environmental contamination and effects.