Assessing the Toxicity of Benzotriazole Ultraviolet Stabilizers to Fishes: Insights into Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor-Mediated Effects

Benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers (BUVSs) are chemicals used to mitigate UV-induced damage to manufactured goods. Their presence in aquatic environments and biota raises concerns, as certain BUVSs activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which is linked to adverse effects in fish. However,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2024-01, Vol.58 (1), p.110-120
Main Authors: Johnson, Hunter M., Dubiel, Justin, Collins, Cameron H., Eriksson, Andreas N. M., Lu, Zhe, Doering, Jon A., Wiseman, Steve
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agonists
Aquatic biota
Aquatic environment
Aromatic compounds
Benzotriazole
Biota
Danio rerio
Ecotoxicology and Public Health
Embryos
Hydrocarbons
Lethality
Microinjection
Receptors
Reporter gene
Species
Toxicity
UV stabilizers
Zebrafish
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Summary:Benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers (BUVSs) are chemicals used to mitigate UV-induced damage to manufactured goods. Their presence in aquatic environments and biota raises concerns, as certain BUVSs activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which is linked to adverse effects in fish. However, potencies of BUVSs as AhR agonists and species sensitivities to AhR activation are poorly understood. This study evaluated the toxicity of three BUVSs using embryotoxicity assays. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos exposed to BUVSs by microinjection suffered dose-dependent increases in mortality, with LD50 values of 4772, 11 608, and 56 292 ng/g-egg for UV-P, UV-9, and UV-090, respectively. The potencies and species sensitivities to AhR2 activation by BUVSs were assessed using a luciferase reporter gene assay with COS-7 cells transfected with the AhR2 of zebrafish and eight other fishes. The rank order of potency for activation of the AhR2 from all nine species was UV-P > UV-9 > UV-090. However, AhR2s among species differed in sensitivities to activation by up to 100-fold. An approximate reversed rank order of species sensitivity was observed compared to the rank order of sensitivity to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo­[p]­dioxin, the prototypical AhR agonist. Despite this, a pre-existing quantitative adverse outcome pathway linking AhR activation to embryo lethality could predict embryotoxicities of BUVSs in zebrafish.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.3c06117