Hepatic activities of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes and biliary levels of xenobiotics in English sole (Parophrys vetulus) exposed to environmental contaminants

English sole (Parophrys vetulus) are susceptible to the development of hepatic disease, including neoplasia, as a result of environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The metabolism of PAHs, believed to be an essential factor in the development of neoplasia, has received considerable study in English sole, except that xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (XMEs) have not been well-studied in this species. In the present work, the activities of hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and epoxide hydrolase (EH) were measured in English sole exposed to several organic xenobiotics. These studies included an examination of the effects of captivity, the short-term responses of hepatic XME activities to several xenobiotic compounds, and detailed studies of the time- and dose-responses of hepatic XME activities to both a representative carcinogenic PAH (benzo[a]pyrene) and to a complex mixture of contaminants extracted from a sediment collected from a polluted area of Puget Sound, WA. Additionally, during the captivity and time- and dose-response studies, the levels of fluorescent aromatic compounds (FACs) were measured in the bile of the fish, both to provide an estimation of contaminant exposure and to evaluate the time- and dose-responses of this measure. The results of the captivity studies showed that the levels of FACs in bile were most affected by captivity, primarily as a result of changes in feeding status. The results of the exposure studies showed that xenobiotic metabolism, as reflected in hepatic activities of XMEs and levels of FACs in the bile, is altered by exposure to environmental contaminants. Whereas hepatic AHH activity could be rapidly and substantially increased by such exposure, activities of GST and EH were not affected, even up to 42 days after exposure. Moreover, because fish were exposed to a wide range of doses of chemicals or mixtures of chemicals which are known to be present in contaminated estuaries, and the responses of the hepatic AHH system and the levels of FACs in bile were measured at several time periods after exposure, the results provided substantial validation for the use of these two measures as bioindicators of exposure to environmental contamination in benthic fish.