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DEVELOPMENT OF A HUMAN BIOMARKER FOR CYANOBACTERIAL TOXINS-MICROCYSTINS
Impact/Purpose:
Improved detection methods will facilitate assessments of the extent of exposure to microcystins, which will aid in regulatory decisions for these contaminant candidate list (CCL) chemicals.
Description:
This study will determine if a commercially- available enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) designed to detect microcystins in water can be used to detect microcystins in human serum and liver. Increasingly, cyanobacterial blooms are being reported worldwide due to several factors: eutrophication, climate change, and potentially greater scientific awareness and detection. During 1996, an outbreak of fatal cyanobacterial toxin intoxications occurred among a group of dialysis patients in Caruaru, Brazil. Microcystins were implicated as the major contributing factor in liver failure and death of at least 50 of these patients. Serum and liver samples from exposed and deceased patients have been archived and will be used for the development of this method. Results of serum and liver analysis by the chemical reference methods: liquid chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization spectrometry will be compared to analytic results from the ommercially-available ELISA kit.