IL4I1 Is a Metabolic Immune Checkpoint that Activates the AHR and Promotes Tumor Progression.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) activation by tryptophan (Trp) catabolites enhances tumor malignancy and suppresses anti-tumor immunity. The context specificity of AHR target genes has so far impeded systematic investigation of AHR activity and its upstream enzymes across human cancers. A pan-tissue AHR signature, derived by natural language processing, revealed that across 32 tumor entities, interleukin-4-induced-1 (IL4I1) associates more frequently with AHR activity than IDO1 or TDO2, hitherto recognized as the main Trp-catabolic enzymes. IL4I1 activates the AHR through the generation of indole metabolites and kynurenic acid. It associates with reduced survival in glioma patients, promotes cancer cell motility, and suppresses adaptive immunity, thereby enhancing the progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in mice. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) induces IDO1 and IL4I1. As IDO1 inhibitors do not block IL4I1, IL4I1 may explain the failure of clinical studies combining ICB with IDO1 inhibition. Taken together, IL4I1 blockade opens new avenues for cancer therapy.

Modeling the Dynamics of Mixture Toxicity and Effects of Organic Micropollutants in a Small River under Unsteady Flow Conditions.

The presence of anthropogenic organic micropollutants in rivers poses a long-term threat to surface water quality. To describe and quantify the in-stream fate of single micropollutants, the advection-dispersion-reaction (ADR) equation has been used previously. Understanding the dynamics of the mixture effects and cytotoxicity that are cumulatively caused by micropollutant mixtures along their flow path in rivers requires a new concept. Thus, we extended the ADR equation from single micropollutants to defined mixtures and then to the measured mixture effects of micropollutants extracted from the same river water samples. Effects (single and mixture) are expressed as effect units and toxic units, the inverse of effect concentrations and inhibitory concentrations, respectively, quantified using a panel of in vitro bioassays. We performed a Lagrangian sampling campaign under unsteady flow, collecting river water that was impacted by a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. To reduce the computational time, the solution of the ADR equation was expressed by a convolution-based reactive transport approach, which was used to simulate the dynamics of the effects. The dissipation dynamics of the individual micropollutants were reproduced by the deterministic model following first-order kinetics. The dynamics of experimental mixture effects without known compositions were captured by the model ensemble obtained through Bayesian calibration. The highly fluctuating WWTP effluent discharge dominated the temporal patterns of the effect fluxes in the river. Minor inputs likely from surface runoff and pesticide diffusion might contribute to the general effect and cytotoxicity pattern but could not be confirmed by the model-based analysis of the available effect and chemical data.

Inhibition of neurite outgrowth and enhanced effects compared to baseline toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells.

Early life exposure to environmental chemicals can cause developmental neurotoxicity (DNT). The impairment of key neurodevelopmental processes such as neurite outgrowth inhibition can be used as endpoints for screening of DNT effects. We quantified neurite-specific effects using the ratio of effect concentrations for cytotoxicity and neurite outgrowth inhibition (SRcytotoxicity). Baseline cytotoxicity, the minimal toxicity of any chemical, was used to quantify enhanced cytotoxicity (toxic ratio, TR) and neuronal-specific toxicity (SRbaseline) by comparing baseline cytotoxicity with the effects on cell viability and neurite outgrowth, respectively. The effects on cell viability and neurite length were measured based on image analysis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Baseline cytotoxicity was predicted from hydrophobicity descriptors using a previously published model for SH-SY5Y cells. Enhanced cytotoxicity and neuronal-specific toxicity were more often observed for hydrophilic chemicals, which indicates that they are more likely to act through specific modes of action (MOA) on cell viability and neurite outgrowth. Hydrophobic chemicals showed a tendency to act through baseline toxicity without showing specific or enhanced toxicity, but were highly potent considering their low effect concentrations for both cytotoxicity and neurite outgrowth inhibition. The endpoint-specific controls (narciclasine, colchicine, cycloheximide, and rotenone), two carbamates (3-hydroxycarbofuran and carbaryl), and two redox cyclers (diquat and paraquat) showed distinct neurite-specific effects (SRcytotoxicity > 4). By comparing neurite-specific effects with enhanced cytotoxicity, one can explain whether the observed effects involve specific inhibition of neurite outgrowth, other specific MOAs, or merely baseline toxicity arising from hydrophobicity.

Critical Membrane Concentration and Mass-Balance Model to Identify Baseline Cytotoxicity of Hydrophobic and Ionizable Organic Chemicals in Mammalian Cell Lines.

All chemicals can interfere with cellular membranes and this leads to baseline toxicity, which is the minimal toxicity any chemical elicits. The critical membrane burden is constant for all chemicals; that is, the dosing concentrations to trigger baseline toxicity decrease with increasing hydrophobicity of the chemicals. Quantitative structure-activity relationships, based on hydrophobicity of chemicals, have been established to predict nominal concentrations causing baseline toxicity in human and mammalian cell lines. However, their applicability is limited to hydrophilic neutral compounds. To develop a prediction model that includes more hydrophobic and charged organic chemicals, a mass balance model was applied for mammalian cells (AREc32, AhR-CALUX, PPARγ-BLA, and SH-SY5Y) considering different bioassay conditions. The critical membrane burden for baseline toxicity was converted into nominal concentration causing 10% cytotoxicity by baseline toxicity (IC10,baseline) using a mass balance model whose main chemical input parameter was the liposome-water partition constants (Klip/w) for neutral chemicals or the speciation-corrected Dlip/w(pH 7.4) for ionizable chemicals plus the bioassay-specific protein, lipid, and water contents of cells and media. In these bioassay-specific models, log(1/IC10,baseline) increased with increasing hydrophobicity, and the relationship started to level off at log Dlip/w around 2. The bioassay-specific models were applied to 392 chemicals covering a broad range of hydrophobicity and speciation. Comparing the predicted IC10,baseline and experimental cytotoxicity IC10, known baseline toxicants and many additional chemicals were identified as baseline toxicants, while the others were classified based on specificity of their modes of action in the four cell lines, confirming excess toxicity of some fungicides, antibiotics, and uncouplers. Given the similarity of the bioassay-specific models, we propose a generalized baseline-model for adherent human cell lines: log[1/IC10,baseline (M)] = 1.23 + 4.97 × (1 - e-0.236 log Dlip/w). The derived models for baseline toxicity may serve for specificity analysis in reporter gene and neurotoxicity assays as well as for planning the dosing for cell-based assays.

Cellular Metabolism in High-Throughput In Vitro Reporter Gene Assays and Implications for the Quantitative In Vitro-In Vivo Extrapolation.

High-throughput in vitro reporter gene assays are increasingly applied to assess the potency of chemicals to alter specific cellular signaling pathways. Genetically modified reporter gene cell lines provide stable readouts of the activation of cellular receptors or transcription factors of interest, but such reporter gene assays have been criticized for not capturing cellular metabolism. We characterized the metabolic activity of the widely applied AREc32 (human breast cancer MCF-7), ARE-bla (human liver cancer HepG2), and GR-bla (human embryonic kidney HEK293) reporter gene cells in the absence and in the presence of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), an AhR ligand known to upregulate cytochrome P450 in vitro and in vivo. We combined fluorescence microscopy with chemical analysis, real-time PCR, and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity measurements to track temporal changes in BaP and its metabolites in the cells and surrounding medium over time in relation to the expression and activity of metabolic enzymes. Decreasing BaP concentrations and formation of metabolites agreed with the high basal CYP1 activity of ARE-bla and the strong CYP1A1 mRNA induction in AREc32, whereas BaP concentrations were constant in GR-bla, in which neither metabolites nor CYP1 induction was detected. The study emphasizes that differences in sensitivity between reporter gene assays may be caused not only by different reporter constructs but also by a varying biotransformation rate of the evaluated parent chemical. The basal metabolic capacity of reporter gene cells in the absence of chemicals is not a clear indication because we demonstrated that the metabolic activity can be upregulated by AhR ligands during the assay. The combination of methods presented here is suitable to characterize the metabolic activity of cells in vitro and can improve the interpretation of in vitro reporter gene effect data and extrapolation to in vivo human exposure.

Assessing the Mixture Effects in In Vitro Bioassays of Chemicals Occurring in Small Agricultural Streams during Rain Events.

Rain events may impact the chemical pollution burden in rivers. Forty-four small streams in Germany were profiled during several rain events for the presence of 395 chemicals and five types of mixture effects in in vitro bioassays (cytotoxicity; activation of the estrogen, aryl hydrocarbon, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors; and oxidative stress response). While these streams were selected to cover a wide range of agricultural impacts, in addition to the expected pesticides, wastewater-derived chemicals and chemicals typical for street runoff were detected. The unexpectedly high estrogenic effects in many samples indicated the impact by wastewater or overflow of combined sewer systems. The 128 water samples exhibited a high diversity of chemical and effect patterns, even for different rain events at the same site. The detected 290 chemicals explained only a small fraction (<8%) of the measured effects. The experimental effects of the designed mixtures of detected chemicals that were expected to dominate the mixture effects of detected chemicals were consistent with predictions for concentration addition within a factor of two for 94% of the mixtures. Overall, the burden of chemicals and effects was much higher than that previously detected in surface water during dry weather, with the effects often exceeding proposed effect-based trigger values.

How To Improve the Dosing of Chemicals in High-Throughput in Vitro Mammalian Cell Assays.

Controlling the exposure of chemicals in in vitro mammalian cell assays is an important prerequisite for the application of in vitro methods in risk and hazard assessment of chemicals. Existing models require numerous physicochemical and system parameters to quantify the effective concentration in the assay. Synthesizing these studies, this article briefly communicates how the protein-rich supplement in the medium can be utilized to adjust constant and quantifiable exposure concentrations without the need for measurements and complex modeling. We present a simplified mass balance equation based on chemical properties and system parameters from openly accessible databases, which can be used to adjust the dose of chemicals in the exposure medium, leading to defined and stable freely dissolved concentrations (Cfree). The proposed framework prevents experimental artifacts associated with the use of cosolvents and medium oversaturation and enables the conversion of in vitro effect data to freely dissolved effect concentrations (ECfree), which can directly be applied in quantitative in vitro to in vivo extrapolation models and compared to other exposure scenarios.

Baseline Toxicity and Volatility Cutoff in Reporter Gene Assays Used for High-Throughput Screening.

Most studies using high-throughput in vitro cell-based bioassays tested chemicals up to a certain fixed concentration. It would be more appropriate to test up to concentrations predicted to elicit baseline toxicity because this is the minimal toxicity of every chemical. Baseline toxicity is also called narcosis and refers to nonspecific intercalation of chemicals in biological membranes, leading to loss of membrane structure and impaired functioning of membrane-related processes such as mitochondrial respiration. In cells, baseline toxicity manifests as cytotoxicity, which was quantified by a robust live-cell imaging method. Inhibitory concentrations for baseline toxicity varied by orders of magnitude between chemicals and were described by a simple quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) with the liposome-water partition constant as a sole descriptor. The QSAR equations were remarkably similar for eight reporter gene cell lines of different cellular origin, six of which were used in Tox21. Mass-balance models indicated constant critical membrane concentrations for all cells and all chemicals with a mean of 69 mmol·kglip-1(95% CI: 49-89), which is in the same range as for bacteria and aquatic organisms and consistent with the theory of critical membrane burden of narcosis. The challenge of developing baseline QSARs for cell lines is that many confirmed baseline toxicants are rather volatile. We deduced from cytotoxicity experiments with semi-volatile chemicals that only chemicals with medium-air partition constants >10,000 L/L can be tested in standard robotic setups without appreciable loss of effect. Chemicals just below that cutoff showed crossover effects in neighboring wells, whereas the effects of chemicals with lower medium-air partition constants were plainly lost. Applying the "volatility cut-off" to >8000 chemicals tested in Tox21 indicated that approximately 20% of Tox21 chemicals could have partially been lost during the experiments. We recommend applying the baseline QSARs together with volatility cut-offs for experimental planning of reporter gene assays, that is, to dose only chemicals with medium-air partition constants >10,000 at concentrations up to the baseline toxicity level.

Mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) but not di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) bind productively to the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ.

RATIONALE: The most frequently occurring phthalate, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), causes adverse effects on glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in several cell models and epidemiological studies. However, thus far, there is no information available on the molecular interaction of phthalates and one of the key regulators of the metabolism, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Since the endogenous ligand of PPARγ, 15-deoxy-delta-12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15Δ-PGJ2 ), features structural similarity to DEHP and its main metabolites produced in human hepatic metabolism, mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), we tested the hypothesis of direct interactions between PPARγ and DEHP or its transformation products. METHODS: Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) and docking were conducted to obtain structural insights into the interactions and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis to reveal information about binding levels. To confirm the activation of PPARγ upon ligand binding on the cellular level, the GeneBLAzer® bioassay was performed. RESULTS: HDX-MS and SPR analyses demonstrated that the metabolites MEHP and MEOHP, but not DEHP itself, bind to the ligand binding pocket of PPARγ. This binding leads to typical activation-associated conformational changes, as observed with its endogenous ligand 15Δ-PGJ2 . Furthermore, the reporter gene assay confirmed productive interaction. DEHP was inactive up to a concentration of 14 µM, while the metabolites MEHP and MEOHP were active at low micromolar concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this study gives structural insights into the direct interaction of PPARγ with MEHP and MEOHP and shows that the DEHP transformation products may modulate the lipid metabolism through PPARγ pathways.

Quantification of freely dissolved effect concentrations in in vitro cell-based bioassays.

Improved understanding of chemical exposure in in vitro bioassays is required for quantitative in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (QIVIVE). In this study, we quantified freely dissolved concentrations in medium sampled from in vitro cell-based bioassays (Cfree,medium) for nine chemicals with different hydrophobicity and speciation at the time point of dosing and after an incubation period of 24 h using solid-phase microextraction. The chemicals were tested in two reporter gene assays, the AREc32 assay indicative of the oxidative stress response and the PPARγ-GeneBLAzer assay that responds to chemicals which bind to the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. For seven of the nine chemicals, Cfree,medium did not change significantly over time in both assays and the experimentally determined Cfree,medium generally agreed well with predictions of a mass balance model that describes the partitioning between proteinaceous and lipidous medium constituents, cells and the aqueous phase. Two chemicals showed a decrease of Cfree,medium in the AREc32 assay over time that was probably caused by cellular metabolism. Furthermore, Cfree,medium of the acidic chemical diclofenac deviated from the model predictions by more than a factor of 10 at higher concentrations, which indicates nonlinear binding and saturation of the medium proteins. Bioassay results are typically reported as nominal effect concentrations (ECnom), although it is established that freely dissolved effect concentrations (ECfree) are a better measure for the bioavailable dose and the method developed here provides a simple experimental approach to measure and model ECfree in in vitro bioassay for improved QIVIVE models.

Cellular Uptake Kinetics of Neutral and Charged Chemicals in in Vitro Assays Measured by Fluorescence Microscopy.

Cellular uptake kinetics are key for understanding time-dependent chemical exposure in in vitro cell assays. Slow cellular uptake kinetics in relation to the total exposure time can considerably reduce the biologically effective dose. In this study, fluorescence microscopy combined with automated image analysis was applied for time-resolved quantification of cellular uptake of 10 neutral, anionic, cationic, and zwitterionic fluorophores in two reporter gene assays. The chemical fluorescence in the medium remained relatively constant during the 24-h assay duration, emphasizing that the proteins and lipids in the fetal bovine serum (FBS) supplemented to the assay medium represent a large reservoir of reversibly bound chemicals with the potential to compensate for chemical depletion by cell uptake, growth, and sorption to well materials. Hence FBS plays a role in stabilizing the cellular dose in a similar way as polymer-based passive dosing, here we term this process as serum-mediated passive dosing (SMPD). Neutral chemicals accumulated in the cells up to 12 times faster than charged chemicals. Increasing medium FBS concentrations accelerated uptake due to FBS-facilitated transport but led to lower cellular concentrations as a result of increased sorption to medium proteins and lipids. In vitro cell exposure results from the interaction of several extra- and intracellular processes, leading to variable and time-dependent exposure between different chemicals and assay setups. The medium FBS plays a crucial role for the thermodynamic equilibria as well as for the cellular uptake kinetics, hence influencing exposure. However, quantification of cellular exposure by an area under the curve (AUC) analysis illustrated that, for the evaluated bioassay setup, current in vitro exposure models that assume instantaneous equilibrium between medium and cells still reflect a realistic exposure because the AUC was typically reduced less than 20% compared to the cellular dose that would result from instantaneous equilibrium.

Impact of a megacity on the water quality of a tropical estuary assessed by a combination of chemical analysis and in-vitro bioassays.

Tropical estuaries are threatened by rapid urbanization, which leads to the spread of thousands of micropollutants and poses an environmental risk to such sensitive aqueous ecosystems. In the present study, a combination of chemical and bioanalytical water characterization was applied to investigate the impact of Ho Chi Minh megacity (HCMC, 9.2 million inhabitants in 2021) on the Saigon River and its estuary and provide a comprehensive water quality assessment. Water samples were collected along a 140-km stretch integrating the river-estuary continuum from upstream HCMC down to the estuary mouth in the East Sea. Additional water samples were collected at the mouth of the four main canals of the city center. Chemical analysis was performed targeting up to 217 micropollutants (pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, PFASs, flame retardants, hormones, pesticides). Bioanalysis was performed using six in-vitro bioassays for hormone receptor-mediated effects, xenobiotic metabolism pathways and oxidative stress response, respectively, all accompanied by cytotoxicity measurement. A total of 120 micropollutants were detected and displayed high variability along the river continuum with total concentration ranging from 0.25 to 78 µg L-1. Among them, 59 micropollutants were ubiquitous (detection frequency ≥ 80 %). An attenuation was observed in concentration and effect profiles towards the estuary. The urban canals were identified as major sources of micropollutants and bioactivity to the river, and one canal (Ben Nghé) exceeded the effect-based trigger values derived for estrogenicity and xenobiotic metabolism. Iceberg modelling apportioned the contribution of the quantified and the unknown chemicals to the measured effects. Diuron, metolachlor, chlorpyrifos, daidzein, genistein, climbazole, mebendazole and telmisartan were identified as main risk drivers of the oxidative stress response and xenobiotic metabolism pathway activation. Our study reinforced the need for improved wastewater management and deeper evaluations of the occurrence and fate of micropollutants in urbanized tropical estuarine environments.

Validation of an SH-SY5Y Cell-Based Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition Assay for Water Quality Assessment.

The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition assay has been frequently applied for environmental monitoring to capture insecticides such as organothiophosphates (OTPs) and carbamates. However, natural organic matter such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) co-extracted with solid-phase extraction from environmental samples can produce false-negative AChE inhibition in free enzyme-based AChE assays. We evaluated whether disturbance by DOC can be alleviated in a cell-based AChE assay using differentiated human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. The exposure duration was set at an optimum of 3 h considering the effects of OTPs and carbamates. Because loss to the airspace was expected for the more volatile OTPs (chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and parathion), the chemical loss in this bioassay setup was investigated using solid-phase microextraction followed by chemical analysis. The three OTPs were relatively well retained (loss <34%) during 3 h of exposure in the 384-well plate, but higher losses occurred on prolonged exposure, accompanied by slight cross-contamination of adjacent wells. Inhibition of AChE by paraoxon-ethyl was not altered in the presence of up to 68 mgc /L Aldrich humic acid used as surrogate for DOC. Binary mixtures of paraoxon-ethyl and water extracts showed concentration-additive effects. These experiments confirmed that the matrix in water extracts does not disturb the assay, unlike purified enzyme-based AChE assays. The cell-based AChE assay proved to be suitable for testing water samples with effect concentrations causing 50% inhibition of AChE at relative enrichments of 0.5-10 in river water samples, which were distinctly lower than corresponding cytotoxicity, confirming the high sensitivity of the cell-based AChE inhibition assay and its relevance for water quality monitoring. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:3046-3057. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Monitoring Mixture Effects of Neurotoxicants in Surface Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents with Neurite Outgrowth Inhibition in SH-SY5Y Cells.

Cell-based assays covering environmentally relevant modes of action are widely used for water quality monitoring. However, no high-throughput assays are available for testing developmental neurotoxicity of water samples. We implemented an assay that quantifies neurite outgrowth, which is one of the neurodevelopmental key events, and cell viability in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells using imaging techniques. We used this assay for testing of extracts of surface water collected in agricultural areas during rain events and effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), where more than 200 chemicals had been quantified. Forty-one chemicals were tested individually that were suspected to contribute to the mixture effects among the detected chemicals in environmental samples. Sample sensitivity distributions indicated higher neurotoxicity for surface water samples than for effluents, and the endpoint of neurite outgrowth inhibition was six times more sensitive than cytotoxicity in the surface water samples and only three times more sensitive in the effluent samples. Eight environmental pollutants showed high specificity, and those ranged from pharmaceuticals (mebendazole and verapamil) to pesticides (methiocarb and clomazone), biocides (1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one), and industrial chemicals (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin, and 2-(4-morpholinyl)benzothiazole). Although neurotoxic effects were newly detected for some of our test chemicals, less than 1% of the measured effects were explained by the detected and toxicologically characterized chemicals. The neurotoxicity assay was benchmarked against other bioassays: activations of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor were similar in sensitivity, highly sensitive and did not differ much between the two water types, with surface water having slightly higher effects than the WWTP effluent. Oxidative stress response mirrored neurotoxicity quite well but was caused by different chemicals in the two water types. Overall, the new cell-based neurotoxicity assay is a valuable complement to the existing battery of effect-based monitoring tools.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals entering European rivers: Occurrence and adverse mixture effects in treated wastewater.

In the present study on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in treated wastewater, we used chemical and effect-based tools to analyse 56 wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents from 15 European countries. The main objectives were (i) to compare three different receptor-based estrogenicity assays (ERα-GeneBLAzer, p-YES, ERα-CALUX®), and (ii) to investigate a combined approach of chemical target analysis and receptor-based testing for estrogenicity, glucocorticogenic activity, androgenicity and progestagenic activity (ERα-, GR-, AR- and PR-GeneBLAzer assays, respectively) in treated wastewater. A total of 56 steroids and phenols were detected at concentrations ranging from 25 pg/L (estriol, E3) up to 2.4 µg/L (cortisone). WWTP effluents, which passed an advanced treatment via ozonation or via activated carbon, were found to be less contaminated, in terms of lower or no detection of steroids and phenols, as well as hormone receptor-mediated effects. This result was confirmed by the effect screening, including the three ERα-bioassays. In the GeneBLAzer assays, ERα-activity was detected in 82 %, and GR-activity in 73 % of the samples, while AR- and PR-activity were only measured in 14 % and 21 % of the samples, respectively. 17ß-estradiol was confirmed as the estrogen dominating the observed estrogenic mixture effect and triamcinolone acetonide was the dominant driver of glucocorticogenic activity. The comparison of bioanalytical equivalent concentrations (BEQ) predicted from the detected concentrations and the relative effect potency (BEQchem) with measured BEQ (BEQbio) demonstrated good correlations of chemical target analysis and receptor-based testing results with deviations mostly within a factor of 10. Bioassay-specific effect-based trigger values (EBTs) from the literature, but also newly calculated EBTs based on previously proposed derivation options, were applied and allowed a preliminary assessment of the water quality of the tested WWTP effluent samples. Overall, this study demonstrates the high potential of linking chemical with effect-based analysis in water quality assessment with regard to EDC contamination.

Impact of various aeration strategies on the removal of micropollutants and biological effects in aerated horizontal flow treatment wetlands.

Two aerated horizontal subsurface flow treatment wetlands were studied over two years for the removal efficacy with respect of conventional wastewater parameters, micropollutants and effect-based methods. One wetland served as control and was aerated 24 h d-1 across 100% of the fractional length of the system. The second aerated horizontal flow treatment wetland was investigated under several aeration modes: first year with a zone of 85% aeration, followed by five months with a zone of 50% aeration and six months with a zone of 35% aeration. With 85% aeration, no significant difference in the removal efficacy as compared to the fully aerated control could be observed, except for E. coli, which were removed four times better in the control. No significant difference in removal efficacy for Total Organic Carbon, 5-day Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand, caffeine, and naproxen were observed. A 50% non-aerated zone reduced the overall removal efficacy of biological effects. The highest removal efficacy for the moderately biodegradable micropollutants benzotriazole and diclofenac was observed in the system with 50% aeration. This could be due to the sharp increase of dissolved oxygen (DO) and oxidation reduction potential at the passage from the non-aerated to the aerated zone (at 75% of the fractional length). The internal concentration profiles of caffeine, ibuprofen and naproxen varied from 12.5%, 25%, 50% to 75% fractional length due to redox shift, DO variations and other conditions. A reduction of the aerated zone to 35% of the fractional length results in reduced treatment efficacy for benzotriazole, diclofenac, acesulfame and biological effects but 50% aeration yielded as much degradation as the fully aerated control. These results indicate that less aeration could provide similar effluent water quality, depending on the pollutants of interest. E. coli and biological effects were removed best in the fully aerated system.

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate substitutes accelerate human adipogenesis through PPARγ activation and cause oxidative stress and impaired metabolic homeostasis in mature adipocytes.

The obesity pandemic is presumed to be accelerated by endocrine disruptors such as phthalate-plasticizers, which interfere with adipose tissue function. With the restriction of the plasticizer di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), the search for safe substitutes gained importance. Focusing on the master regulator of adipogenesis and adipose tissue functionality, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), we evaluated 20 alternative plasticizers as well as their metabolites for binding to and activation of PPARγ and assessed effects on adipocyte lipid accumulation. Among several compounds that showed interaction with PPARγ, the metabolites MINCH, MHINP, and OH-MPHP of the plasticizers DINCH, DINP, and DPHP exerted the highest adipogenic potential in human adipocytes. These metabolites and their parent plasticizers were further analyzed in human preadipocytes and mature adipocytes using cellular assays and global proteomics. In preadipocytes, the plasticizer metabolites significantly increased lipid accumulation, enhanced leptin and adipsin secretion, and upregulated adipogenesis-associated markers and pathways, in a similar pattern to the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone. Proteomics of mature adipocytes revealed that both, the plasticizers and their metabolites, induced oxidative stress, disturbed lipid storage, impaired metabolic homeostasis, and led to proinflammatory and insulin resistance promoting adipokine secretion. In conclusion, the plasticizer metabolites enhanced preadipocyte differentiation, at least partly mediated by PPARγ activation and, together with their parent plasticizers, affected the functionality of mature adipocytes similar to reported effects of a high-fat diet. This highlights the need to further investigate the currently used plasticizer alternatives for potential associations with obesity and the metabolic syndrome.

Removal of micropollutants and biological effects by conventional and intensified constructed wetlands treating municipal wastewater.

Seven treatment wetlands and a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) were weekly monitored over the course of one year for removal of conventional wastewater parameters, selected micropollutants (caffeine, ibuprofen, naproxen, benzotriazole, diclofenac, acesulfame, and carbamazepine) and biological effects. The treatment wetland designs investigated include a horizontal subsurface flow (HF) wetland and a variety of wetlands with intensification (aeration, two-stages, or reciprocating flow). Complementary to the common approach of analyzing individual chemicals, in vitro bioassays can detect the toxicity of a mixture of known and unknown components given in a water sample. A panel of five in vitro cell-based reporter gene bioassays was selected to cover environmentally relevant endpoints (AhR: indicative of activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor; PPARγ: binding to the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma; ERα: activation of the estrogen receptor alpha; GR: activation of the glucocorticoid receptor; oxidative stress response). While carbamazepine was persistent in the intensified treatment wetlands, mean monthly mass removal of up to 51% was achieved in the HF wetland. The two-stage wetland system showed highest removal efficacy for all biological effects (91% to >99%). The removal efficacy for biological effects ranged from 56% to 77% for the HF wetland and 60% to 99% for the WWTP. Bioanalytical equivalent concentrations (BEQs) for AhR, PPARγ, and oxidative stress response were often below the recommended effect-based trigger (EBT) values for surface water, indicating the great benefit for using nature-based solutions for water treatment. Intensified treatment wetlands remove both individual micropollutants and mixture effects more efficiently than conventional (non-aerated) HF wetlands, and in some cases, the WWTP.

Toxic effects of substituted p-benzoquinones and hydroquinones in in vitro bioassays are altered by reactions with the cell assay medium.

Substituted para-benzoquinones and hydroquinones are ubiquitous transformation products that arise during oxidative water treatment of phenolic precursors, for example through ozonation or chlorination. The benzoquinone structural motive is associated with mutagenicity and carcinogenicity, and also with induction of the oxidative stress response through the Nrf2 pathway. For either endpoint, toxicological data for differently substituted compounds are scarce. In this study, oxidative stress response, as indicated by the AREc32 in vitro bioassay, was induced by differently substituted para-benzoquinones, but also by the corresponding hydroquinones. Bioassays that indicate defense against genotoxicity (p53RE-bla) and DNA repair activity (UmuC) were not activated by these compounds. Stability tests conducted under incubation conditions, but in the absence of cell lines, showed that tested para-benzoquinones reacted rapidly with constituents of the incubation medium. Compounds were abated already in phosphate buffer, but even faster in biological media, with reactions attributed to amino- and thiol-groups of peptides, proteins, and free amino acids. The products of these reactions were often the corresponding substituted hydroquinones. Conversely, differently substituted hydroquinones were quantitatively oxidized to p-benzoquinones over the course of the incubation. The observed induction of the oxidative stress response was attributed to hydroquinones that are presumably oxidized to benzoquinones inside the cells. Despite the instability of the tested compounds in the incubation medium, the AREc32 in vitro bioassay could be used as an unspecific sum parameter to detect para-benzoquinones and hydroquinones in oxidatively treated waters.

Alternatives for the worse: Molecular insights into adverse effects of bisphenol a and substitutes during human adipocyte differentiation.

Bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in a variety of consumer-related plastic products, was reported to cause adverse effects, including disruption of adipocyte differentiation, interference with obesity mechanisms, and impairment of insulin- and glucose homeostasis. Substitute compounds are increasingly emerging but are not sufficiently investigated.We aimed to investigate the mode of action of BPA and four of its substitutes during the differentiation of human preadipocytes to adipocytes and their molecular interaction with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a pivotal regulator of adipogenesis.Binding and effective biological activation of PPARγ were investigated by surface plasmon resonance and reporter gene assay, respectively. Human preadipocytes were continuously exposed to BPA, BPS, BPB, BPF, BPAF, and the PPARγ-antagonist GW9662. After 12 days of differentiation, lipid production was quantified via Oil Red O staining, and global protein profiles were assessed using LC-MS/MS-based proteomics. All tested bisphenols bound to human PPARγ with similar efficacy as the natural ligand 15d-PGJ2in vitroand provoked an antagonistic effect on PPARγ in the reporter gene assay at non-cytotoxic concentrations. During the differentiation of human preadipocytes, all bisphenols decreased lipid production. Global proteomics displayed a down-regulation of adipogenesis and metabolic pathways, similar to GW9662. Interestingly, pro-inflammatory pathways were up-regulated, MCP1 release was increased, and adiponectin decreased. pAKT/AKT ratios revealed significantly reduced insulin sensitivity by BPA, BPB, and BPS upon insulin stimulation.Thus, our results show that not only BPA but also its substitutes disrupt crucial metabolic functions and insulin signaling in adipocytes under low, environmentally relevant concentrations. This effect, mediated through inhibition of PPARγ, may promote hypertrophy of adipose tissue and increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, including insulin resistance.