Assessing the environmental quality of sediments from Split coastal area (Croatia) with a battery of cell-based bioassays.

A battery of cell-based bioassays, including PLHC-1 cells, zebrafish-Pxr-transfected COS-7 cells and estrogen receptor-recombinant yeast assay (ER-RYA), were applied to detect the presence of bioactive pollutants in sediments collected from Kastela Bay and Brac Channel (Croatia). Exposure of PLHC-1 cells to the sediment extracts evidenced significant cytotoxicity and presence of CYP1A inducers in sediments collected in Kastela Bay, near the industrial zone and cargo port of Split. Sediments from this area, which is highly contaminated with PCBs, HCB, DDTs and γ-HCH, also activated the zebrafish Pxr (zfPxr) reporter system. No evidence of estrogenicity was detected for any of the sediments extracts in the ER-RYA assay. Importantly, the battery of in vitro assays identified Kastela Bay as the area with the higher anthropogenic impact, where sediment-bound pollutants could pose a risk to aquatic organisms. In contrast, sediments from the Brac Channel showed rather low response in the different bioassays.