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SPE-HPLC purification of endocrine-disrupting compounds from human serum for assessment of xenoestrogenic activity

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Abstract

Assessment of xenoestrogenic activity in human serum samples requires the removal of endogenous sex hormones to assure that the activity measured originates from xenobiotic compounds only. Serum samples representing high, medium and lower accumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were extracted using solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) for separation of POPs from endogenous hormones. The recovery of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in spiked serum samples was up to 86 %, making the extraction method suitable for the study. MVLN cells, stably transfected with an estrogen receptor (ER) luciferase reporter vector (estrogen response element chemically activated luciferase expression, ERE-CALUX), were exposed to the reconstituted SPE-HPLC extracts for determination of the integrated estrogenic activity. The effects of PCBs were analyzed by direct in vitro exposure of PCBs (nos. 138, 153, 180) and by ex vivo analysis of SPE-HPLC extracts from serum spiked with the PCBs. Similar effects on ER transactivation were observed for the direct in vitro and the ex vivo analysis experiments. The ER transactivation responses determined for actual serum samples were in the linear range of the dose-response curve. 17β-Estradiol titrations showed that the xenoestrogenic effects were mediated via ER. Moreover, our SPE-HPLC-ERE-CALUX assay was demonstrated to elicit high interlaboratory correlation. In the present study the combination of SPE-HPLC purification and the ex vivo estrogenic responses measured by ERE-CALUX was validated and considered to be a valuable tool to assess the combined ER effect of lipophilic serum POPs where additive/synergistic and agonistic/antagonistic effects are integrated giving an overall estimate of exposure and bioactivity.

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Abbreviations

BPA:

Bisphenol A

BPA-DM:

Bisphenol A dimethacrylate

CALUX:

Chemically activated luciferase expression

CV:

Coefficient of variation

DC-FCS:

Dextran-treated fetal calf serum

DDE:

Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene

DDT:

Dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane

DMEM:

Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

E1:

Estrone

E2:

17β-Estradiol

EC40 :

Concentration exerting 40 % of the effect of the maximal effective concentration

ER:

Estrogen receptor

ERE:

Estrogen response element

GC:

Gas chromatography

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

KHF:

Female serum control

KHM:

Male serum control

logK ow :

Logarithm of the octanol–water partitioning coefficient

LTH:

Laboratoire de la Toxicologie Humaine

MS:

Mass spectrometry

NP:

4n-Nonylphenol

PCB:

Polychlorinated biphenyl

POP:

Persistent organic pollutant

SPE:

Solid-phase extraction

t R :

Retention time

ɛ o :

Eluotropic strength

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Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues from the Unit of Cellular and Molecular Toxicology: Manhai Long and Tanja Krüger for scientific support, and Anne Keblovszki and Birgitte Sloth Andersen for excellent technical assistance. The study was supported by grants from the European Commission: INUENDO (http://www.inuendo.dk), grant no. QLK4-CT-2001-00202) and the Board of Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Cellular and Molecular Toxicology, Institute of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, University of Aarhus, Vennelyst Boulevard 6, Building 1260, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Philip Sebastian Hjelmborg, Mandana Ghisari & Eva Cecilie Bonefeld-Jorgensen

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  1. Philip Sebastian Hjelmborg
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  2. Mandana Ghisari
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  3. Eva Cecilie Bonefeld-Jorgensen
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Correspondence to Eva Cecilie Bonefeld-Jorgensen.

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Hjelmborg, P.S., Ghisari, M. & Bonefeld-Jorgensen, E.C. SPE-HPLC purification of endocrine-disrupting compounds from human serum for assessment of xenoestrogenic activity. Anal Bioanal Chem 385, 875–887 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-0463-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-0463-9

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