Abstract
In order to study effects of environmental contamination, a suite of biomarkers were measured over the period 1996 to 1999 in livers of flounder (Platichthys flesus) from two urban embayments and one non-urban reference site of the Gulf of Finland in the vicinity of Tallinn, Estonia. Total cytochrorne P450 (CYP) level, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH), 5-amino-levulinic acid synthetase (ALA-S), and heme synthetase (HEM-S) activities were quantified by means of spectrophotometry. These data were compared to results obtained in 1994 for the same biomarkers at one of the urban embayments and the non-urban site, as measured by the same protocols. For the flounder collected from the non-urban site, changes occurred in AHH activity and the total CYP level, which were significantly lower in 1996 and 1999 compared with 1994 (p< 0.05). Activity of ALA-S de-creased slightly over this same period. The activity of HEM-S increased between 1996 and 1999. In the urban site first investigated in 1994, the activities of AHH and ALA-S, as well as the total level of CYP in flounder liver were significantly higher compared with 1999 (p< 0.05). HEM-S activities did not show any significant changes over this time period. AHH activities of flounder collected in another urban site decreased slightly between 1996 and 1999, in contrast to data on the total CYP level which diminished drastically over these years (p< 0.05). Activities of HEM-S increased significantly (p< 0.05) during the period investigated, while activities of ALA-S remained unchanged. These findings suggest that contamination of the marine environments by PAHs has gone down everywhere in the Tallinn area during the last 3 to 5 years. However, the results indicate that the area is still contaminated, as indicated by elevated heme synthesis enzymes and the total CYP content, and that monitoring of contaminants and their effects should be continued in this region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahokas JT, Pelkonen O, Kärki NT (1975) Metabolism of polycyclic hydrocarbon hydroxylase in the liver of a trout species. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications63, 635–641
Bogovski S (1992) Neoplastic changes in two Baltic fish species. Histopathological study. In: Research in Medicine. Tartu University, Tartu, p 14
Bogovski S (1994) Neoplasia in flatfishes, particularly in flounders of the Baltic Sea. In: Bylund G, Lönnström LG (eds): Diseases and Parasites of Flounder in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Marine Biologists Publication, No. 15. pp 99–104
Bogovski S, Sergeyev B, Muzyka V, Karlova S (1998) Cytochrome P450 system and heme synthesis enzymes activity in flounder liver as biomarkers of marine environments pollution. Marine Environmental Research46, 13–16
Bogovski S, Lang T, Mellergaard S (1999a) Histopathological examinations of liver nodules in flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the Baltic Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science56, 148–151
Bogovski S, Sergeyev B, Muzyka V, Karlova S (1999b) Correlations between cytochrome P450, haem synthesis enzymes, and aromatic compounds in flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the Baltic Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science56, 152–156
Bottomley SS, Smithee OA (1968) Characterization and measurement of ALA-synthesis in bone marrow mitochondria. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta159, 27–37
Bylund G, Wiklund T (1989) Liver conditions of flounder (Platichthys flesus) in the northern Baltic Sea. In: Diseases of Fish and Shellfish. Abstracts from IV EAFP International Conference. Santiago de Compostella, Spain. Sept. 24–28. p 184
Collier TK, Anulacion BF, Stein JE, Goksøyr A, Varanasi U (1995) A field evaluation of cytochrome P4501A as a biomarker of contaminant exposure in three species of flatfish. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry14, 143–152
De Matteis F (1988) Toxicological aspects of liver heme biosynthesis. Semin Hematol25, 321–329
Estonia Ministry of the Environment (1995): Proceedings of the Ministry of the Environment of Estonia. Environmental Information Centre, Tallinn. p 112
Gornall AD, Bordavill CJ, David MN (1949) Determination of serum proteins by means of the biuret reaction. Journal of Biological Chemistry177, 151–166
Hanni H (1999) Water supply and sewage in Tallinn since medieval times. European Water Management2 (4) 264
Holder G, Yagi H, Levin W, Lu AYH, Jerina DM (1975) Metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene. III. An evaluation of the fluorescence assay. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications65, 1363–1370
Krahn MM, Rhodes LD, Myers MS, Moore LK, MacLeod WD (1986) Associations between metabolites of aromatic compounds in bile and the occurrence of hepatic lesions in English sole (Parophrys vetulus) from Puget Sound, Washington. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology15, 61–67
Lang T, Dethlefsen V (1994) Externally visible diseases and liver neoplasms in flounder (Platichthys flesus) of the south-western Baltic Sea. In: Bylund G, Lönnström LG (eds): Diseases and Parasites of Flounder in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Marine Biologists Publication, No. 15. pp 39–47
Muzyka VI (1972) Determination of 5-aminolevulinic acid in erythrocytes. Laboratornoe Delo10, 603–605
Myers MS, Stehr CM, Olson OP, Johnson LL, McCain BB, Chan SL, Varanasi U (1994) Relationships between toxicopathic hepatic lesions and exposure to chemical contaminants in English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus), starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), and white croaker (Genyonemus lineatus) from selected marine sites on the Pacific coast, USA. Environmental Health Perspectives102, 200–215
Omura T, Sato R (1964) The carbon monooxide-binding pigment of rat liver microsomes. Journal of Biological Chemistry239, 2370–2378
Thunell S (2000): Porphyrins, porphyrin metabolism and porphyries. I. Update. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical Laboratory Investigations60, 509–540
Veldre I, Itra A (1991) PAH in the water medium of the Estonian SSR and their monitoring. In Cooke M, Loening K, Merrit J (eds): Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocabons: Measurements, Means, and Metabolism. XIth International Symposium on Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons. Gaithersburg, Md., Battelle Press, Columbus. pp 939–948
Wiklund T, Bylund G (1994) Diseases of flounder (Platichthys flesus (L.)) in Finnish coastal waters. In: Bylund G, Lönnström LG (eds): Diseases and Parasites of Flounder in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Marine Biologists Publication, No. 15. pp 49–52
Yoneyama Y, Tamai A, Yasuda T, Yoshikawa H (1965) Iron-containing enzyme from rat liver. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta105, 100–105
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bogovski, S., Muzyka, V., Sergeyev, B. et al. Biomarkers of carcinogenic contaminants in baltic flounder (Platichthys flesus). Environ Sci & Pollut Res 9 (Suppl 1), 15–18 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02987420
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02987420