To provide the first nationwide reconnaissance of the occurrence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) in water resources, the U.S. Geological Survey used five newly developed analytical methods to measure concentrations of 95 OWCs in water samples from a network of 139 streams across 30 states during 1999 and 2000. The selection of sampling sites was biased toward streams susceptible to contamination (i.e. downstream of intense urbanization and livestock production). OWCs were prevalent during this study, being found in 80% of the streams sampled. The compounds detected represent a wide range of residential, industrial, and agricultural origins and uses with 82 of the 95 OWCs being found during this study. The most frequently detected compounds were coprostanol (fecal steroid), cholesterol (plant and animal steroid), N,N-diethyltoluamide (insect repellant), caffeine (stimulant), triclosan (antimicrobial disinfectant), tri(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (fire retardant), and 4-nonylphenol (nonionic detergent metabolite). Measured concentrations for this study were generally low and rarely exceeded drinking-water guidelines, drinking-water health advisories, or aquatic-life criteria. Many compounds, however, do not have such guidelines established. The detection of multiple OWCs was common for this study, with a median of seven and as many as 38 OWCs being found in a given water sample. Little is known about the potential interactive effects (such as synergistic or antagonistic toxicity) that may occur from complex mixtures of OWCs in the environment. In addition, results of this study demonstrate the importance of obtaining data on metabolites to fully understand not only the fate and transport of OWCs in the hydrologic system but also their ultimate overall effect on human health and the environment.

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Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: a national reconnaissance.

Introduction and Background Modern glucocorticoid endocrinology is a colorful, richly varied, but formless discipline—a profusion of cellular, physiological and pharmacological effects, seemingly unrelated through any central hormonal function. A current list of glucocorticoid effects might include such disparate items as stimulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis, inhibition of glucose uptake by peripheral tissues, suppression of inflammation, enhanced excretion of a water load, induction in various cells of tryptophan oxygenase and glutamine synthetase, suppression of numerous immune reactions, inhibition of secretion of several hormones and neuropeptides, and inhibition of activity of plasminogen activator and other neutral proteinases. Judging from recent writings on glucocorticoid physiology, an item that might be low on the list or missing altogether is “increased resistance to stress”.

Physiological Functions of Glucocorticoids in Stress and Their Relation to Pharmacological Actions

Majors topics addressed in this review on zinc physiology are ; 1) chemistry and biochemistry; 2) interface of biochemistry and physiology of zinc; 3) physiology and cell and molecular biology; 4) pathology

The biochemical basis of zinc physiology

For present purposes, a protein-bound metal site consists of one or more metal ions and all protein side chain and exogenous bridging and terminal ligands that define the first coordination sphere of each metal ion. Such sites can be classified into five basic types with the indicated functions: (1) structural -- configuration (in part) of protein tertiary and/or quaternary structure; (2) storage -- uptake, binding, and release of metals in soluble form: (3) electron transfer -- uptake, release, and storage of electrons; (4) dioxygen binding -- metal-O{sub 2} coordination and decoordination; and (5) catalytic -- substrate binding, activation, and turnover. The authors present here a classification and structure/function analysis of native metal sites based on these functions, where 5 is an extensive class subdivided by the type of reaction catalyzed. Within this purview, coverage of the various site types is extensive, but not exhaustive. The purpose of this exposition is to present examples of all types of sites and to relate, insofar as is currently feasible, the structure and function of selected types. The authors largely confine their considerations to the sites themselves, with due recognition that these site features are coupled to protein structure at all levels. In themore » next section, the coordination chemistry of metalloprotein sites and the unique properties of a protein as a ligand are briefly summarized. Structure/function relationships are systematically explored and tabulations of structurally defined sites presented. Finally, future directions in bioinorganic research in the context of metal site chemistry are considered. 620 refs.« less

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Structural and Functional Aspects of Metal Sites in Biology

Response to cadmium in higher plants

Biochemistry of metallothionein

Metallothionein: a cadmium- and zinc-containing protein from equine renal cortex.

Overview of metallothionein.

Metallothionein: a cadmium and zinc-containign protein from equine renal cortex. II. Physico-chemical properties.

A wealth of chemical, spectroscopic and structural data attest to the uniqueness of the metallothioneins as a group of novel bioinorganic structures. Their earmarking feature is the arrangement of “soft” metal ions in complexes with cysteine side chains to form discrete metal-thiolate clusters. In this review an account is given of the chemical characteristics of the 52 metallothioneins whose primary structures are now known completely or in part. Also included is an up-to-date summary of the spectroscopic properties and of the spatial structure models derived from X-ray diffraction crystallographic analysis and from two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Jeremias H. R. Kägi

Papers

Biochemistry of metallothionein

Metallothionein: a cadmium- and zinc-containing protein from equine renal cortex.

Overview of metallothionein.

Metallothionein: a cadmium and zinc-containign protein from equine renal cortex. II. Physico-chemical properties.

Chemistry and biochemistry of metallothionein.