Abstract
A method has been tested in laboratory mice to monitor for the presence of brevetoxins in blood after exposure. The use of blood collection cards is an adaptation of a method employed for routine diagnostic and genetic testing of newborns. Blood is collected and applied to a 0.5-inch diameter circle on a specially prepared blood collection card and allowed to dry. The blood spots are then extracted and the presence of toxin activity is first screened using a high throughput receptor binding assay. Positive samples are then examined for specific brevetoxin congeners by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Preliminary experiments tested the efficiency and linearity of toxin extraction from blood spiked with brevetoxin-3 (PbTx-3). Blood from treated mice was tested for the presence of brevetoxin at different times following exposure to a sublethal dose (180 microg/kg PbTx-3). Brevetoxin activity determined by receptor assay increased to 25 +/- 7.4 nM PbTx-3 equivalents within 4 hr after exposure and was still detectable in three of four animals 24 hr after exposure. Tandem mass spectrometry provided confirmation of PbTx-3, which also increased for the time points between 0.5 and 4.0 hr exposure. However, PbTx-3 was not detected at 24 hr, which suggested the formation of a biologically active metabolite. We anticipate that this approach will provide a method to biomonitor brevetoxins in living marine resources (e.g., finfish), protected species, and humans.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (66.6 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Benson J. M., Tischler D. L., Baden D. G. Uptake, tissue distribution, and excretion of brevetoxin 3 administered to rats by intratracheal instillation. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 1999 Jul 9;57(5):345–355. doi: 10.1080/009841099157656. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cattet M., Geraci J. R. Distribution and elimination of ingested brevetoxin (PbTx-3) in rats. Toxicon. 1993 Nov;31(11):1483–1486. doi: 10.1016/0041-0101(93)90214-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- McFarren E. F., Silva F. J., Tanabe H., Wilson W. B., Campbell J. E., Lewis K. H. The occurrence of a ciguatera-like poison in oysters, clams, and Gymnodinium breve cultures. Toxicon. 1965 Nov;3(2):111–123. doi: 10.1016/0041-0101(65)90005-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Poli M. A., Musser S. M., Dickey R. W., Eilers P. P., Hall S. Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning and brevetoxin metabolites: a case study from Florida. Toxicon. 2000 Jul;38(7):981–993. doi: 10.1016/s0041-0101(99)00191-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Poli M. A., Templeton C. B., Thompson W. L., Hewetson J. F. Distribution and elimination of brevetoxin PbTx-3 in rats. Toxicon. 1990;28(8):903–910. doi: 10.1016/0041-0101(90)90020-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Van Dolah F. M., Finley E. L., Haynes B. L., Doucette G. J., Moeller P. D., Ramsdell J. S. Development of rapid and sensitive high throughput pharmacologic assays for marine phycotoxins. Nat Toxins. 1994;2(4):189–196. doi: 10.1002/nt.2620020407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]