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

提案标题：合作研究：类固醇生成化合物在水生沉积物中的去向和生物利用度首席研究员：Bartelt-Hunt，香农；科洛克，阿拉斯加研究所：内布拉斯加大学林肯分校；内布拉斯加大学-奥马哈分校建议NO：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，包括骨骼形成缺陷和对大脑发育的影响。以前发表的研究表明，外源类固醇会吸附到水生沉积物上，但与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，与沉积物相关的类固醇仍然具有生物可利用性，而且可能是水生系统中生物可利用类固醇类化合物的主要来源。这项拟议的工作具有创新性，因为它代表了第一项研究，即研究与沉积物的关联如何改变类固醇对水生生物群的生物利用度。PIS将研究导致雌激素和雄激素在沉积物中去向和转化的物理和化学因素，以及微生物暴露于具有生物活性的类固醇激素的途径。拟议的研究结果将有助于更好地了解沉积物在类固醇转化和生物吸收中的作用，并将支持在受类固醇类化合物影响的水生系统中设计有效的缓解策略。这项应用的目的是研究沉积物在类固醇类化合物的环境命运、转化和生物利用度中所起的作用。这项研究的中心假设是，沉淀物相关的类固醇仍然具有生物利用度。他们计划验证他们的中心假设，并通过追求以下三个具体目标来实现这一应用的目标：(1)确定类固醇对普遍存在的淡水鱼--愚头鱼的接触途径，(2)评估控制沉积物中类固醇的物理化学机制，以及(3)通过在已知类固醇生成排放的水生系统中进行的受控野外研究来验证他们的实验室结果。该项目的教育和推广计划侧重于本科生和研究生教育，并向对干扰内分泌化合物感兴趣的区域、国家和国际团体提供信息。拟议的项目代表了研究型I大学(内布拉斯加州-林肯大学)和以本科生为主的机构(内布拉斯加州大学奥马哈分校)的教职员工之间的合作研究努力。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中，重点是由内布拉斯加-林肯大学和内布拉斯加大学奥马哈分校的项目调查人员教授的污染物去向和迁移、环境采样方法和毒理学。关于环境中荷尔蒙的研究结果和信息将通过在内布拉斯加大学季刊上发表的文章和为非专业受众设计的互动网站向废水处理厂运营商和公众传播。将通过与生物调查公司和哥伦比亚麦德林的安蒂奥基亚大学的研究生交换项目实现国际推广。

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.