Dataset Information

Short-term exposure to effluent from bulk drug industries

ABSTRACT: The Patancheru area near Hyderabad in India is recognized as a key link in the global supply chain for many bulk drugs. A central treatment plant receives wastewater from about 90 different manufacturers and the resulting complex effluent has contaminated surface, ground and drinking water in the region. Ecotoxicological testing of the effluent has shown adverse effects for several organisms, including aquatic vertebrates. In an attempt to start investigating how exposure to effluent-contaminated water may affect humans and other terrestrial vertebrates, rats were tube-fed effluent. Results from microarray and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays indicated, however, no marked effects on hepatic gene expression after five days exposure. Neither did a clinical analysis of blood serum constituents used as biomarkers for human disease reveal any significant changes, nor were there any effects on weight gain. Taken together, we could not find evidence for any acute toxicity in the rat; however, we cannot rule out that higher doses of effluent or a longer exposure time may still be associated with risks for terrestrial vertebrates.

ORGANISM(S): Rattus norvegicus

PROVIDER: GSE23983 | GEO | 2012/09/01

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA130477

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Dataset's files

Source:

			Action	DRS
		Other

Items per page:

1 - 1 of 1

Similar Datasets

Project description:Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent-dominated streams provide critical habitat for aquatic and terrestrial organisms but also continually expose them to complex mixtures of pharmaceuticals that can potentially impair growth, behavior, and reproduction. Currently, few biomarkers are available that relate to pharmaceutical-specific mechanisms of action. In the experiment reported in this paper, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos at two developmental stages were exposed to water samples from three sampling sites (0.1 km upstream of the outfall, at the effluent outfall, and 0.1 km below the outfall) during base-flow conditions from two months (January and May) of a temperate-region effluent-dominated stream containing a complex mixture of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern. RNA-sequencing identified potential biological impacts and biomarkers of WWTP effluent exposure that extend past traditional markers of endocrine disruption. Transcriptomics revealed changes to a wide range of biological functions and pathways including cardiac, neurological, visual, metabolic, and signaling pathways. These transcriptomic changes varied by developmental stage and displayed sensitivity to variable chemical composition and concentration of effluent, thus indicating a need for stage-specific biomarkers. Some transcripts are known to be associated with genes related to pharmaceuticals that were present in the collected samples. Although traditional biomarkers of endocrine disruption were not enriched in either month, a high estrogenicity signal was detected upstream in May and implicates the presence of unidentified chemical inputs not captured by the targeted chemical analysis. This work reveals associations between bioeffects of exposure, stage of development, and the composition of chemical mixtures in effluent-dominated surface water. The work underscores the importance of measuring effects beyond the endocrine system when assessing the impact of bioactive chemicals in WWTP effluent and identifies a need for non-targeted chemical analysis when bioeffects are not explained by the targeted analysis.

Project description:Patancheru, near Hyderabad, India, is a major production site for the global bulk drug market. About 90 manufacturers send their wastewater to a common treatment plant in Patancheru. Extraordinary high levels of a wide range of pharmaceuticals have recently been demonstrated in the treated effluent. As little as 0.2% of this effluent can strongly reduce the growth rate of tadpoles, but the underlying mechanisms of toxicity are not known. To begin addressing how the effluent affects aquatic vertebrates, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to 0.2% effluent for five days. Several physiological endpoints, together with effects on global hepatic gene expression patterns, were analyzed. The exposed fish showed both an induction of hepatic cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) gene expression, as well as EROD activity. Clinical blood chemistry analyses revealed an increase in plasma phosphate levels, which in humans indicates impaired kidney function. Several oxidative stress-related genes were induced in the livers, however, no significant changes in antioxidant enzyme activities or in the hepatic glutathione levels were found. Furthermore, estrogen-regulated genes were slightly up-regulated following exposure, and moderate levels of estriol were detected in the effluent. This study identifies changes in gene expression triggered by exposure to a high dilution of the effluent, supporting the hypothesis that these fish are responding to chemical exposure. The pattern of regulated genes may contribute to the identification of mechanisms of sub-lethal toxicity, as well as illuminate possible causative agents. Two exposure experiments were conducted with control fish and fish exposed to 0.2% effluent. 19 pools of RNA, each containing three fish, were hybrdizied to in situ synthesized custom-made oligonucleotide microarrays. In total, four exposed and four control pools from exposure experiment I and five exposed and six control pools from exposure experiment II were analyzed.

Dataset Information

Short-term exposure to effluent from bulk drug industries

Dataset's files

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets