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Evaluation and characterization of anti-estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities in soil samples along the Second Songhua River, China

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Abstract

In the present study, re-combined estrogen receptor (ER) and androgen receptor (AR) gene yeast assays combined with a novel approach based on Monte Carlo simulation were used for evaluation and characterization of soil samples collected from Jilin along the Second Songhua River to assess their antagonist/agonist properties for ER and AR. The results showed that estrogenic activity only occurred in the soil samples collected in the agriculture area, but most soil samples showed anti-estrogenic activities, and the bioassay-derived 4-hydroxytamoxifen equivalents ranged from N.D. to 23.51 μg/g. Hydrophilic substance fractions were determined as potential contributors associated with anti-estrogenic activity in these soil samples. Moreover, none of the soil samples exhibited AR agonistic potency, whereas 54 % of the soil samples exhibited AR antagonistic potency. The flutamide equivalents varied between N.D. and 178.05 μg/g. Based on Monte Carlo simulation-related mass balance analysis, the AR antagonistic activities were significantly correlated with the media polar and polar fractions. All of these results support that this novel calculation method can be adopted effectively to quantify and characterize the ER/AR agonists and antagonists of the soil samples, and these data could help provide useful information for future management and remediation efforts.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41001351), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2012LYB35), and the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (2014ZX07201-010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Research Center of Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, Ministry of Education, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Jian Li, Yafei Wang, Dongdong Kong, Jinsheng Wang & Yanguo Teng

  2. Key Lab for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analytical Techniques, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Na Li

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  1. Jian Li
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  2. Yafei Wang
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  3. Dongdong Kong
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  4. Jinsheng Wang
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Correspondence to Jian Li.

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Li, J., Wang, Y., Kong, D. et al. Evaluation and characterization of anti-estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities in soil samples along the Second Songhua River, China. Environ Monit Assess 187, 724 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4933-4

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