Abstract
There is increasing evidence of estrogenic activities of source waters and drinking waters in China based on estrogen receptors (ERs) testing. However, relating such activities to retinoid X receptors (RXRs) in both drinking and source waters are lacking. To rectify this situation, we assessed 23 source water samples from six major river systems in China. We also collected samples at various stages of water processing from three drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) using a two-hybrid RXR yeast assay with and without metabolism. No RXR agonistic activity was observed, but significant antagonistic activity was detected in all sample extracts. The RXR antagonistic activities of source water sample extracts ranged from 15.2% to 57.8% without metabolism and 11.5% to 68.3% with metabolism, respectively. In the drinking water treatment processes, RXR antagonistic activities without metabolism and with metabolism of up to 31.4% and 37.5% were removed, respectively. Nevertheless, the remaining RXR antagonists in treated drinking water from these source waters could still be harmful to human health. To the best of our knowledge, the occurrence of in vitro RXR disruption activities in source and drinking water has not been previously reported in China. Therefore, an attempt was made to conduct detailed studies investigating RXR disrupting activities and their possible risks in source and drinking water.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Colborn T, Saal F S V, Soto A M. Developmental effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in wildlife and humans. Environ Health Perspect, 1993, 101: 378–384
Crews D, Willingham E, Skipper J K. Endocrine disruptors: Present issues, future directions. Q Rev Biol, 2000, 75: 243–260
Tashiro Y, Takemura A, Fujii H, et al. Livestock wastes as a source of estrogens and their effects on wildlife of Manko tidal flat, Okinawa. Mar Pollut Bull, 2003, 47: 143–147
Yamazaki F. Sex control and manipulation in fish. Aquaculture, 1983, 33: 329–354
Desbrow C, Routledge E J, Brighty G C, et al. Identification of estrogenic chemicals in STW effluent. 1. Chemical fractionation and in vitro biological screening. Environ Sci Technol, 1998, 32: 1549–1558
Li N, Wang D H, Zhou Y Q, et al. Dibutyl phthalate contributes to the thyroid receptor antagonistic activity in drinking water processes. Environ Sci Technol, 2010, 44: 6863–6868
Yuan S G, Wang D H, Ma M, et al. Assessment on removal effect of different advanced treatment techniques in waterworks. Chinese J Environ Eng, 2008, 2: 586–590
Magi E, Scapolla C, Di Carro M, et al. Determination of endocrine-disrupting compounds in drinking waters by fast liquid chromatography-tandemmass spectrometry. J Mass Spectrom, 2010, 45: 1003–1011
Kuch H M, Ballschmiter K. Determination of endocrine-disrupting phenolic compounds and estrogens in surface and drinking water by HRGC-(NCI)-MS in the picogram per liter range. Environ Sci Technol, 2001, 35: 3201–3206
Janosek J, Hilscherova K, Blaha L, et al. Environmental xenobiotics and nuclear receptors-Interactions, effects and in vitro assessment. Toxicol Vitro, 2006, 20: 18–37
Bentinger M, Turunen M, Zhang X X, et al. Involvement of retinoid X receptor alpha in coenzyme Q metabolism. J Mol Biol, 2003, 326: 795–803
Sun S Y, Lotan R. Retinoids and their receptors in cancer development and chemoprevention. Crit Rev Oncol Hemat, 2002, 41: 41–55
Van der Plas S A, Lutkeschipholt I, Spenkelink B, et al. Effects of subchronic exposure to complex mixtures of dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like polyhalogenated aromatic compounds on thyroid hormone and vitamin A levels in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Toxicol Sci, 2001, 59: 92–100
Fürst P. Dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls and other organohalogen compounds in human milk. Levels, correlations, trends and exposure through breastfeeding. Mol Nutr Food Res, 2006, 50: 922–933
Weschler C. Changes in indoor pollutants since the 1950s. Atmos Environ, 2009, 43: 153–169
Campbell C, Borglin S, Green F, et al. Biologically directed environmental monitoring, fate, and transport of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds in water: A review. Chemosphere, 2006, 65: 1265–1280
Vermeirssen E L M, Burki R, Joris C, et al. Characterization of the estrogenicity of swiss midland rivers using a recombinant yeast bioassay and plasma vitellogenin concentrations in feral male brown trout. Environ Toxicol Chem, 2005, 24: 2226–2233
Westerhoff P, Yoon Y, Snyder S, et al. Fate of endocrine-disruptor, pharmaceutical, and personal care product chemicals during simulated drinking water treatment processes. Environ Sci Technol, 2005, 39: 6649–6663
Ames B N, Lee F D, Durston W E. Improved bacterial test system for detection and classification of mutagens and carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 1973, 70: 782–786
Ma M, Rao K F, Wang Z J. Occurrence of estrogenic effects in sewage and industrial wastewaters in Beijing, China. Environ Pollut, 2007, 147: 331–336
Ma M, Li J, Wang Z J. Assessing the detoxication efficiencies of wastewater treatment processes using a battery of bioassays/bio-markers. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 2005, 49: 480–487
Li J, Ma M, Wang Z J. A two-hybrid yeast assay to quantify the effects of xenobiotics on retinoid X receptor-mediated gene expression. Toxicol Lett, 2008, 176: 198–206
Takatori S, Kitagawa Y, Oda H, et al. Estrogenicity of metabolites of benzophenone derivatives examined by a yeast two-hybrid assay. J Health Sci, 2003, 49: 91–98
Benotti M J, Trenholm R A, Vanderford B J, et al. Pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds in US drinking water. Environ Sci Technol, 2009, 43: 597–603
Casajuana N, Lacorte S. Presence and release of phthalic esters and other endocrine disrupting compounds in drinking water. Chromatographia, 2003, 57: 649–655
Kuster M, Lopezdealda M, Hernando M, et al. Analysis and occurrence of pharmaceuticals, estrogens, progestogens and polar pesticides in sewage treatment plant effluents, river water and drinking water in the Llobregat river basin (Barcelona, Spain). J Hydrol, 2008, 358: 112–123
Lin Y, Shi Y, Jiang M, et al. Removal of phenolic estrogen pollutants from different sources of water using molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres. Environ Pollut, 2008, 153: 483–491
Murray K E, Thomas S M, Bodour A A. Prioritizing research for trace pollutants and emerging contaminants in the freshwater environment. Environ Pollut, 2010, 158: 3462–3471
Wu B, Zhang X X, Zhang X L, et al. Semi-volatile organic compounds and trace elements in the Yangtze River source of drinking water. Ecotoxicology, 2009, 18: 707–714
Zhang Z L, Hong H S, Zhou J L, et al. Fate and assessment of persistent organic pollutants in water and sediment from Minjiang River Estuary, Southeast China. Chemosphere, 2003, 52: 1423–1430
Zhong W J, Wang D H, Xu X W, et al. Screening level ecological risk assessment for phenols in surface water of the Taihu Lake. Chemosphere, 2010, 80: 998–1005
Lemaire G, Balaguer P, Michel S, et al. Activation of retinoic acid receptor-dependent transcription by organochlorine pesticides. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 2005, 202: 38–49
Li X M, Gan Y P, Yang X P, et al. Human health risk of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in edible fish from Huairou Reservoir and Gaobeidian Lake in Beijing, China. Food Chem, 2008, 109: 348–354
Legler J, Dennekamp M, Vethaak A D, et al. Detection of estrogenic activity in sediment-associated compounds using in vitro reporter gene assays. Sci Total Environ, 2002, 293: 69–83
Pottenger L H, Domoradzki J Y, Markham D A, et al. The relative bioavailability and metabolism of bisphenol A in rats is dependent upon the route of administration. Toxicol Sci, 2000, 54: 3–18
Moffat G J, Burns A, Van Miller J, et al. Glucuronidation of nonylphenol and octylphenol eliminates their ability to activate transcription via the estrogen receptor. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2001, 34: 182–187
Itoh S, Ueda H, Naasaka T, et al. Evaluating variation of estrogenic effect by drinking water chlorination with the MVLN assay. Water Sci Technol, 2000, 42: 61–69
Chen C, Wen T, Wang G, et al. Determining estrogenic steroids in Taipei waters and removal in drinking water treatment using high-flow solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Sci Total Environ, 2007, 378: 352–365
Ormad M, Miguel N, Claver A, et al. Pesticides removal in the process of drinking water production. Chemosphere, 2008, 71: 97–106
Kim S D, Cho J, Kim I S, et al. Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in South Korean surface, drinking, and waste waters. Water Res, 2007, 41: 1013–1021
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Jiang, W., Yan, Y., Li, N. et al. Retinoid X receptor activities of source waters in China and their removal efficiencies during drinking water treatment processes. Chin. Sci. Bull. 57, 595–600 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4906-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4906-0