Meeting Abstract
5.2 Tuesday, Jan. 4 Hepatic Protein Expression and Endocrine Disruption in Contaminant-exposed English Sole in the Southern California Bight WAGGONER, Claire M.*; REYES, Jesus A.; ARMSTRONG, Jeffrey L.; KELLEY, Kevin M.; California State University, Long Beach; Pacific Coast Environmental Conservancy; Ocean Monitoring Division, Orange County Sanitation District; California State University, Long Beach Claire.Waggoner@gmail.com
In urban-impacted coastal waters of southern California, a wide variety of environmental contaminants are known to accumulate in the tissues of resident wildlife. In English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus), studies are increasingly demonstrating that exposures to contaminated environments can be associated with important, potentially deleterious, phenotypic changes. These may include altered endocrine regulatory pathways, detoxification responses, and larger physiological systemic effects (e.g., on metabolism, growth, reproduction). Findings also indicate that different types of phenotypic effects are significantly correlated with exposures to distinct classes of contaminants. For example, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are strongly related to thyroid disruption, while DDT is related to disruption of the stress-response (cortisol) endocrine system. Using 2D gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry to identify and measure protein expression profiles (PEPs) in tissues of impacted fish, new studies are discovering previously undocumented phenotypic effects. PEPs in liver, for example, indicate a number of important changes in detoxification processes (e.g., in GST, HGD, Se-binding protein), metabolic adaptation (e.g., catabolic enzyme changes), and cellular acclimation (e.g., HSPs, signaling, cell structure), among others. These changes appear to be related to different types of contaminant exposures. An integrative analytical approach, based on multiple measures, is beginning to elucidate underlying mechanisms of environmental impacts and their potential causative agents. (Supported by NOAA-USC Sea Grant Program)
