Kinetics and effects of dichloroacetic acid in rainbow trout.

Halogenated acetic acids (HAAs) produced by chlorine disinfection of municipal drinking water represent a potentially important class of environmental contaminants. Little is known, however, about their potential to adversely impact fish and other aquatic life. In this study we examined the kinetics and effects of dichloroacetic acid (DCA) in rainbow trout. Branchial uptake was measured in fish confined to respirometer-metabolism chambers. Branchial uptake efficiency was <5%, suggesting passive diffusion through aqueous channels in the gill epithelium. DCA concentrations in tissues following prolonged (72, 168, or 336 h) waterborne exposures were expressed as tissue:plasma concentration ratios. Concentration ratios for the kidney and muscle at 168 and 336 h were consistent with the suggestion that DCA distributes primarily to tissue water. Reduced concentration ratios for the liver, particularly at 72 h, indicated that DCA was highly metabolized by this tissue. Routes and rates of elimination were characterized by injecting chambered animals with a high (5.0mg/kg) or low (50 microg/kg) bolus dose. DCA was rapidly cleared by naïve animals resulting in elimination half-lives (t(1/2)) of less than 4h. Waterborne pre-treatment of fish with DCA increased the persistence of a subsequently injected dose. In high dose animals, pre-treatment caused a 4-fold decrease in whole-body clearance (CL(B)) and corresponding increases in the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (extrapolated to infinity; AUC(0-->infinity)) and t(1/2). Qualitatively similar results were obtained in low dose fish, although the magnitude of the pre-treatment effect ( approximately 2.5-fold) was reduced. Renal and branchial clearance contributed little (combined, <3% of CL(B)) to the elimination of DCA. Biliary elimination of DCA was also negligible. The steady-state volume of distribution (V(SS)) did not vary among treatment groups and was consistent with results of the tissue distribution study. DCA had no apparent effects on respiratory physiology or acid-base balance; however, the concentration of blood lactate declined progressively during continuous waterborne exposures. A transient effect on blood lactate was also observed in bolus injection experiments. The results of this study suggest that clearance of DCA is due almost entirely to metabolism. The pathway responsible for this activity exhibits characteristics in common with those of mammalian glutathione S-transferase zeta (GSTzeta), including non-linear kinetics and apparent suicide inactivation by DCA. Observed effects on blood lactate are probably due to the inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase in aerobic tissues and may require the participation of a monocarboxylase transport protein to move DCA across cell membranes.

Use of online microdialysis sampling to determine the in vivo rate of phenol glucuronidation in rainbow trout.

A quantitative microdialysis (MD) sampling method was used to study phenol (PH) glucuronidation in vivo in rainbow trout. The method employs internal calibrators to account for changes in MD probe performance (in vitro-to-in vivo and sample-to-sample) and yields data of high temporal resolution that are well suited for developing kinetic models. Initially, trout were dosed with phenyl glucuronide (PG) by intravascular infusion for 24 h and then depurated for 48 h. Measured concentrations of PG in blood were well described by a one-compartment clearance-volume model. Massbalance calculations showed that 93% of infused PG was eliminated in urine during the depuration period. Peak concentrations of PG in urine averaged 3.4 times higher than those in blood, and the fitted PG clearance constant (15.7 ml/kg/h) was about 2.6 times higher than the reported glomerular filtration rate for trout. These findings confirm earlier work suggesting that PG is actively secreted by the trout kidney. In a second set of experiments, trout were exposed continuously to PH in water. In vivo rate constants for PH glucuronidation were estimated using a pair of linked (PH and PG) one-compartment clearance-volume models. Expressed on a whole-fish basis, the glucuronidation rate averaged 0.049/h, which was about 7% of the total rate of PH elimination. This study demonstrates the utility of quantitative MD sampling for kinetic studies of xenobiotic metabolism in fish.

Quantification of phenol, phenyl glucuronide, and phenyl sulfate in blood of unanesthetized rainbow trout by online microdialysis sampling.

ABSTRACT Free concentrations of phenol (PH), phenyl glucuronide (PG), and phenyl sulfate (PS) were measured in the bloodstream of unanesthetized rainbow trout by online microdialysis (MD) sampling. Preliminary studies were conducted to optimize the MD system and evaluate three retrodialysis calibration standards: p-nitrophenyl glucuronide (PNPG), p-nitrophenyl sulfate (PNPS), and [(14)C]-phenol ((14)C-PH). PG and PNPG exhibited nearly identical dialyzing properties in vitro (saline and plasma) and in vivo (muscle tissue and dorsal aorta). A similar result was obtained for PS and PNPS. In vivo studies were therefore performed using PNPG, PNPS, and (14)C-PH as retrodialysis calibrators for PG, PS, and PH, respectively. The utility of MD sampling for kinetic studies with fish was investigated by implanting MD probes into the dorsal aorta of spinally transected rainbow trout. Each fish was then exposed to PH in water in a respirometer-metabolism chamber. The free concentration of PH in blood reached a steady-state level within 12 h of initiating the exposure. A steady state for PS was generally established within 24 h, while free concentrations of PG tended to increase throughout the exposure. Terminal plasma samples were dialyzed using the same probe employed in each experiment. Analyte concentrations determined in this manner were in good agreement with calculated in vivo values. The methods described in this study can be used to collect kinetic data sets of high temporal resolution while eliminating artifacts often associated with conventional blood sampling methods.

A compilation of in vitro rate and affinity values for xenobiotic biotransformation in fish, measured under physiological conditions.

Scientific literature from the past 25 years was searched to obtain in vitro biotransformation rate and affinity data for fish. To maximize the environmental relevance of this dataset, we focused on studies conducted at multiple substrate concentrations, and established acceptance criteria with respect to assay temperature and pH. Altogether, enzyme rate and affinity parameters are provided for 43 species and 77 compounds. In all but three instances, the reported reactions exhibited saturation at high substrate concentrations and could be used to calculate Michaelis-Menten rate (Vmax) and affinity (Km) constants. Most of this information was obtained using in vitro systems derived from liver tissue. Information from non-hepatic tissues was included, however, to provide a basis for comparisons among tissues. Where possible, in vitro enzyme parameters were examined to compare: (1) hepatic metabolism of a common substrate within a species, (2) hepatic metabolism of common substrates by different species, and (3) metabolism of a common substrate by different tissues of one species. Comparisons within species highlight a number of factors that may substantially influence xenobiotic metabolism in fish including gender, life stage, and acclimation temperature. Limited data suggest that Vmax and Km for the same reaction may vary by up to three orders of magnitude among species.

Uptake and elimination of ionizable organic chemicals at fish gills: I. Model formulation, parameterization, and behavior.

A mechanistic model for the uptake and elimination of ionizable organic chemicals at fish gills is presented. This model is a modification of a previous model for nonionizable organic chemicals that addressed the transport of chemical to and from gill surfaces in water and blood, diffusion of chemical across epithelial cells, and binding of chemical to components in water and blood. For ionizable chemicals, three additional processes are included. First, excretory products alter the pH at gill surfaces, affecting the relative amounts of neutral and ionized molecules compared with that in the bulk exposure water. Second, ionized molecules support chemical flux to and from epithelial cell membranes and help maintain high diffusion gradients of neutral molecules across these membranes, thereby contributing to uptake and elimination even if the membranes are impermeable to ionized molecules. Third, membrane barriers are not completely impermeable to ionized molecules, and even limited permeability can have appreciable effects on chemical flux. Approaches for model parameterization are discussed. Model-predicted relationships of uptake and elimination rates to exposure water pH, alkalinity, and chemical properties are presented and discussed in terms of model processes. The model is shown to predict important features of reported effects of pH on uptake rates of weak organic acids.

Uptake and elimination of ionizable organic chemicals at fish gills: II. Observed and predicted effects of ph, alkalinity, and chemical properties.

Effects of exposure-water pH on chemical uptake at rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) gills were investigated for nine weakly acidic, chlorinated phenols with different ionization constants and hydrophobicities and for a moderately hydrophobic, nonionizable reference chemical (1,2,4-trichlorobenzene). Uptake rates for all chemicals varied little from pH 6.3 to 8.4, despite ionization of the chlorinated phenols ranging from less than 1 to greater than 99.9% among these pH values and chemicals. At pH 9.2, uptake rates were reduced substantially for the chlorinated phenols but not for the reference chemical. These results indicate greater bioavailability of neutral chemical forms but also considerable bioavailability of ionized forms that varies with pH. Three mechanisms were evaluated regarding such ionized chemical bioavailability. First, reduced pH at the gill surface causes net conversion of ionized molecules to more readily absorbed neutral molecules. This mechanism was tested by increasing exposure-water alkalinity, which increased gill surface pH and reduced uptake of the chlorinated phenols but not of the reference chemical. Magnitudes of these effects were close to predictions from a mathematical model for chemical exchange at fish gills that incorporated this mechanism. Second, ionized molecules contribute to uptake by maintaining high gradients of neutral molecules across epithelial membrane barriers, even if the barriers are impermeable to these ions. This mechanism was demonstrated to explain the similarity of uptake among pH values and chemicals at pH less than 8.4 and the degree to which uptake declined at pH 9.2. Third, membrane barriers can have some permeability to the ionized forms, but this was not important for the chemicals and conditions of the present study. Increased exposure-water pH also was demonstrated to increase elimination rates of these chemicals, which also was in accord with model expectations.