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• Dose response relationships – A graph describing the response of an organism, population, or biological community to a range of concentrations of a xenobiotic – Usually shown as a curve or histogram describing enzyme inhibition, DNA damage, death, behavioral changes or any other measurable/quantifiable parameter • dose ≠ concentration – Concentration is the relative concentration of a chemical with respect to water/air e.g. concentration of DDE in Lake Apopca water – Dose is the amount of a chemical that actually gets into an organism / actually reaches the active site e.g. concentration of DDE in Alligator tissue • Additional mortality is seen as dose is increased • The first derivative of this dose response curve is often a normal distribution – This implies that there is a concentration range that has a greater effect on mortality than the range above and below – Typically observed for multigenic responses • Other distributions can be observed. For example a bimodal distributions would result, if the toxicant had a greater effect on male than on females • There are several parameters that are commonly estimated by graphical or computation means from dose response plots : – LD50 Dose that is Lethal in 50% of individuals tested; – LC50 Concentration that is Lethal in 50% of individuals tested; estimated by graphical or computation means – EC50 Concentration that has a measurable Effect on 50% of individual tested. This is the parameter that is used estimate effects that are not lethal. – IC50 Concentration that Inhibits 50% of a particular process e.g. enzyme activity, growth rate in bacteria • How do we rank the toxic effect of chemical ? / How do we compare the toxicity of two chemicals ? – Run an experiment with both chemicals through the same concentration range and using the same tester species (all else being equal) – Plot the data together on the same Percent mortality plot • Slopes of lines are similar • Midpoint (LC50) is different • Problem with the LD50 method – Quoting LC50 only can be misleading because the slope of two plots can be very different, but result in the same LC50 (ignores kinetic differences) – LC50 Experiments are typically done for short periods of time (typically 96 hours). The risk of slow acting chemicals, or chemicals that move into tissue slowly may be underestimated – chronic exposure – how to you measure dose ? • LD50 plots with similar slopes may suggest a similar mode of action • To describe the effect of chemicals that do not have an immediate lethal effect other terminology is used: – NOEC No Observed Effect Concentration; determined by statistical hypothesis testing – NOEL No Observed Effect Level; determined by statistical hypothesis testing; reported as a dose – NOAEC No Observed Adverse Effect Concentration; chosen for its’ impact on a species – NOAEL No Observed Adverse Effect Level; chosen for its’ impact on a species – reported as dose – LOEC Lowest Observed Effect Concentration – LOEL Lowest Observed Effect Level (dose) – MTC Minimum Threshold Concentration – MATC Maximum Allowable Toxicant Concentration • Threshold concentration : – concentration below which no effect is observed – A : no threshold – B : threshold – C : hormetic response • Over the years test methods have been standardized. Protocols are available from – American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – National Toxicology Program (NTP) • Protocols are available as – U.S. EPA publications – The federal register – From researchers that pioneer and develop standard methodology • Assumptions of standard methods: – The response observed is due to the chemical administered – The magnitude of the response is related/proportional to the amount of chemical administered • Assumes there is a molecular target / receptor for the chemical in an organism • Assumes that the concentration of the chemical at the receptor site is related to the dose administered – There is a method for accurately and precisely quantifying the response/toxicity – Endpoints are known i.e. toxicity assay needs to be run within the range of the toxic effect of a chemical – too little, no effect; too much, 100% mortality at lowest dose • Advantages of standard methods – Results are comparable between different labs – Results can be reproduced by other labs – Data can be compiled from the literature and comparisons drawn – Provides criteria for decision making – Logistically simplified – hire technicians that can perform many assays with little training – Standard ASTM methods handbook – Methods can be critically investigated and changed based on best available science – Provides guidelines on how to collect data and perform statistical analysis • Types of toxicity tests : field study type of study mesocosm microcosm chronic acute immediate reproduction Interspecies Community ecosystem succession interaction abiotic factors temporal/spatial scale • Types of tests: – Single species or community – Aquatic • Usually whole body exposure • Design variable usually relate to test chamber – – – – Static tests Static renewal Recirculation Continuous or intermittent flow-through – Terrestrial • • • • • • • • • Intravenous (mouse, rat, rabbit, cat, dog) Intromusuclar(“”) Intraperitoneal(“”) Gavage (tube into stomach) Feeding studies Inhalation Dermal (rabbit) Spraying (community/field study) Soil addition • Standard test organisms – – – – – Should be widely available Easily maintained in the lab History of genetic composition (known mutations) Must be sensitive to a toxicant Must be representative of a particular taxonomic class • Mayer et. Ellersieck 1986 – Examined 5000 end-point tests on 66 species for 410 chemicals – Found that 88% of test on Daphnia, Gammarus, and rainbow trout provided the lowest indication of toxicity