Intercalibración de las pruebas con Daphnia magna y Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata en México: herramientas potenciales para el monitoreo ambiental

In Mexico, as in other developing countries, the knowledge about pollution status and its effects in local ecosystems has been developed following specific research goals that make use of different methodologies. Since there are information gaps in this topic, it is important to promote the broad use of standardized ecotoxicity protocols as regulatory tools to establish comprehensive environmental protection measures. From this perspective, the goal of this study was to demonstrate, through intercalibration exercises, with previous capacity homologation workshops, the potential of Daphnia magna and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata (known before as Selenastrum capricornutum) protocols, to generate analytically reliable results in laboratories with little experience in this field. This will allow the promotion of bio-analytical tools in Mexico for environmental monitoring, which will favor the integral evaluation of pollution in water bodies. The results of the laboratories internal calibration exercises demonstrated that in a short term it is possible to achieve an acceptable analytical repeatability and an adequate performance of the protocols, which sustains the idea that these protocols are good environmental monitoring tools, even in countries where today there are very few qualified human resources and laboratories fit for this purpose.En México, como en otros países en desarrollo, el conocimiento sobre el grado de contaminación y sus efectos en los ecosistemas locales se ha generado siguiendo objetivos de investigación específicos que emplean metodologías de distinta naturaleza. Dado que aún existen vacíos de información en el tema, es importante impulsar el uso generalizado de pruebas ecotoxicológicas que empleen protocolos estandarizados y que sirvan como herramientas regulatorias para establecer medidas integrales de protección al ambiente. Por lo anterior, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo demostrar, a través de ejercicios de intercalibración, previo desarrollo de talleres de homologación de capacidades, el potencial de los protocolos de ensayo con Daphina magna y Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata (antes Selenastrum capricornutum) para generar resultados confiables en laboratorios con poca experiencia en este campo. Esto permitirá impulsar el empleo de herramientas bioanalíticas en México para el monitoreo ambiental, las cuales favorecen la evaluación integral de los problemas de contaminación en los cuerpos de agua. Los resultados de los ejercicios de calibración interna de los laboratorios demostraron que en un corto plazo es posible lograr una repetibilidad aceptable en las pruebas y un desempeño adecuado de los protocolos, lo cual apoya la idea de que estos protocolos son pertinentes para su empleo en programas de monitoreo ambiental, aún en países donde actualmente se cuenta con pocos recursos humanos capacitados y laboratorios aptos para tal fin

Occupational Toluene Exposure Induces Cytochrome P450 2E1 mRNA Expression in Peripheral Lymphocytes

Print workers are exposed to organic solvents, of which the systemic toxicant toluene is a main component. Toluene induces expression of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), an enzyme involved in its own metabolism and that of other protoxicants, including some procarcinogens. Therefore, we investigated the association between toluene exposure and the CYP2E1 response, as assessed by mRNA content in peripheral lymphocytes or the 6-hydroxychlorzoxazone (6OH-CHZ)/chlorzoxazone (CHZ) quotient (known as CHZ metabolic ratio) in plasma, and the role of genotype (5′-flanking region RsaI/PstI polymorphic sites) in 97 male print workers. The geometric mean (GM) of toluene concentration in the air was 52.80 ppm (10–760 ppm); 54% of the study participants were exposed to toluene concentrations that exceeded the maximum permissible exposure level (MPEL). The GM of urinary hippuric acid at the end of a work shift (0.041 g/g creatinine) was elevated relative to that before the shift (0.027 g/g creatinine; p < 0.05). The GM of the CHZ metabolic ratio was 0.33 (0–9.3), with 40% of the subjects having ratios below the GM. However, the average CYP2E1 mRNA level in peripheral lymphocytes was 1.07 (0.30–3.08), and CYP2E1 mRNA levels within subjects correlated with the toluene exposure ratio (environmental toluene concentration:urinary hippuric acid concentration) (p = 0.014). Genotype did not alter the association between the toluene exposure ratio and mRNA content. In summary, with further validation, CYP2E1 mRNA content in peripheral lymphocytes could be a sensitive and noninvasive biomarker for the continuous monitoring of toluene effects in exposed persons