Applying whole water samples to cell bioassays for detecting dioxin-like compounds at contaminated sites

Proposal to improve vertebrate cell cultures to establish them as substitutes for the regulatory testing of chemicals and effluents using fish

“…For example, serum was found to keep fluoranthene in the culture medium and at the same time protect the cells from photocytotoxicity by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Schirmer et al, 1997). Hestermann et al (2000) and Schirmer et al (2004b) showed that effective concentrations (EC50s) for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated induction of cytochrome CYP1A by 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) were lower in the absence of serum. This, however, was not true for benzo[a]pyrene (Schirmer et al, 2004b).…”

“…Hestermann et al (2000) and Schirmer et al (2004b) showed that effective concentrations (EC50s) for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated induction of cytochrome CYP1A by 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) were lower in the absence of serum. This, however, was not true for benzo[a]pyrene (Schirmer et al, 2004b). Likewise, CYP1A-inducing compounds were more effectively detected in environmental samples if serum was added to the exposure medium (Schirmer et al, 2004a,b).…”

Natural attenuation research at the contaminated megasite Zeitz

“…Thus, induction of P4501A can be referred to as a ''dioxin-like'' response. The RTL-W1 cell line has variously been shown to be able to detect dioxin-like compounds of individual chemicals (Bols et al, 1999) as well as in complex mixtures, such as effluent (Schirmer et al, 2001) or groundwater (Schirmer et al, 2004a). For the study at the Zeitz field site, inclusion of this endpoint into the bioassay battery was based on the history of the Zeitz field site, which suggested the presence of dioxin-like compounds due to lignite processing.…”

AhR-active compounds in sediments of the Haihe and Dagu Rivers, China

“…The use of bioanalytical methods can provide a comprehensive measure of total AhR-mediated activity and its associated risk (Behnisch et al, 2003). A bioassay method has the advantage of integrating the toxic potency of all the compounds in a sample and of being more rapid and inexpensive when many samples need to be assessed (Schirmer et al, 2004).…”