Effects of triclocarban, N,N‐diethyl‐meta‐toluamide, and a mixture of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

Abstract Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been detected widely in aquatic ecosystems, but little is known about their mechanisms of toxicity. We exposed adult fathead minnows ( Pimephales promelas ) for 48 h to triclocarban (1.4 µg/L), N,N ‐diethyl‐meta‐toluamide (DEET; 0.6 µg/L), or a mixture of PPCPs consisting of atenolol (1.5 µg/L), caffeine (0.25 µg/L), diphenhydramine (0.1 µg/L), gemfibrozil (1.5 µg/L), ibuprofen (0.4 µg/L), naproxen (1.6 µg/L), triclosan (2.3 µg/L), progesterone (0.2 µg/L), triclocarban (1.4 µg/L), and DEET (0.6 µg/L). Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction revealed an upregulation in vitellogenin ( vtg ) in livers of females and males exposed to triclocarban. Also, an upregulation of hepatic lipoprotein lipase ( lpl ) and a downregulation of androgen receptor ( ar ) and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein ( star ) were observed in testes. The group treated with DEET only showed a significant decrease in ar in females. In contrast, the PPCP mixture downregulated vtg in females and males and expression of estrogen receptor alpha ( erα ), star , and thyroid hormone receptor alpha 1 ( thra1 ) in testes. The authors' results show that the molecular estrogenic effects of triclocarban are eliminated (males) or reversed (females) when dosed in conjunction with several other PPCP, once again demonstrating that results from single exposures could be vastly different from those observed with mixtures. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:910–919. © 2013 SETAC