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VISUALIZATION OF TISSUE DISTRIBUTION AND METABOLISM OF BENZO[A]PYRENE IN EARLY EMBRYONIC MEDAKA (ORYZIAS LATIPES)
Citation:
Hornung, M. W., P. N. FITZSIMMONS, D. W. KUEHL, R. D. Johnson, P. M. Cook, AND J. W. Nichols. VISUALIZATION OF TISSUE DISTRIBUTION AND METABOLISM OF BENZO[A]PYRENE IN EARLY EMBRYONIC MEDAKA (ORYZIAS LATIPES). Presented at Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 06 - 10, 2005.
Description:
Fish early life stages are highly sensitive to exposure to persistent bioaccumulative toxicants (PBTs). The factors that contribute to this are unknown, but may include the distribution of PBTs to sensitive tissues during critical stages of development. Multiphoton laser scanning microscopy can be used visualize the tissue distribution of PBTs during fish early life stages. In this study, differences in the multi-photon excitation spectra of benzo[a]pyrene and several primary metabolites were used to investigate the tissue distribution of a metabolized xenobiotic during fish early development Enzymatic assays have previously shown that xenobiotic metabolism in embryonic fish begins once the liver develops. In contrast, this study demonstrates metabolism of BaP prior to liver formation, and that metabolism can significantly change the tissue distribution of BaP over a very short period of time and can lead to an accumulation of metabolites until after hatch when the elimination processes of the organism become functional. A mechanistic understanding of the disposition of PBTs during fish early life stage development is required to strengthen exposure-effect linkages necessary for establishing scientifically sound water criteria and risk assessment decisions.