Reduced anxiety is associated with the accumulation of six serotonin reuptake inhibitors in wastewater treatment effluent exposed goldfish Carassius auratus

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been found in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and their recipient watersheds. To assess the potential of WWTP effluents to alter fish behaviour, we caged male goldfish (Carassius auratus) for 21-days at three sites along a contamination gradient downstream from a WWTP which discharges into Cootes Paradise Marsh, on the western tip of Lake Ontario. We also included a fourth caging site as an external reference site within Lake Ontario at the Jordan Harbour Conservation Area. We then measured concentrations of PPCPs and monoamine neurotransmitters in caged goldfish plasma, and conducted behavioural assays measuring activity, startle response, and feeding. We detected fifteen different PPCPs in goldfish plasma including six serotonin reuptake inhibitors (amitriptyline, citalopram, fluoxetine/norfluoxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine, and diphenhydramine). Plasma concentrations of serotonin were significantly greater in plasma of fish caged closer to the WWTP effluent outfall site. The fish caged near and downstream of the WWTP effluent were bolder, more exploratory, and more active overall than fish caged at the reference site. Taken together, our results suggest that fish downstream of WWTPs are accumulating PPCPs at levels sufficient to alter neurotransmitter concentrations and to also impair ecologically-relevant behaviours.

Direct measurement of vagal tone in rats does not show correlation to HRV

“…Bioelectronic medicine and autonomic therapy are rapidly growing fields, and technologies to interface with small autonomic nerves will be crucial to further the research in these disciplines. While previous approaches have had limited success with long-term recording, CNTY electrodes provide a stable, high-SNR interface for chronic peripheral nerve interfacing 33 . With novel techniques for electrode manufacture and preparation described here, CNTYs are now easier to use and more reliable to implant.…”

“…CNT yarns were manufactured at Case Western Reserve University as described previously 33 . CNTYs were then mated to stainless steel 35NLT-DFT wire (Fort Wayne Metals) with conductive epoxy resin (H20E, EPO-TEK).…”

“…As a result, recordings from the vagus nerve have been largely limited to non-survival experiments, including both whole nerve recordings (using hook or cuff electrodes), or recordings from single fibers. We previously reported on the development of a novel recording technique for chronic intrafascicular recording using carbon nanotube yarn (CNTY) electrodes, resulting in high-quality signals in the rat vagus nerve for up to 10 weeks after implantation 33 . CNTY electrodes are small (10 µm diameter), and highly flexible with low-impedance, creating an axon-like interface that allows high-SNR recordings in small autonomic nerves.…”

In Vitro Metabolic Transformation of Pharmaceuticals by Hepatic S9 Fractions from Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

“…This contributes to chronic exposure of aquatic organisms, such as fish, to human pharmaceuticals. Even though surface water concentrations typically contain pharmaceutical compounds in the nanogram to microgram per litter range [3,4], chronic exposure will likely cause adverse effects on non-target organisms [5][6][7]. The accumulation of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment can indirectly affect public health through the food chain [8,9].…”

Amitriptyline at an Environmentally Relevant Concentration Alters the Profile of Metabolites Beyond Monoamines in Gilt‐Head Bream

“…Occurrence of antidepressants in aquatic ecosystems and their potential effects on nontarget organisms are of growing concern (Brooks et al 2003;Fong and Ford 2014;Guler and Ford 2010;Johnson et al 2007;Minagh et al 2009;Styrishave et al 2011). Although some authors have considered amitriptyline (David et al 2018;Simmons et al 2017), most studies examining the hazards associated with antidepressants in aquatic organisms have focused on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine and venlafaxine (Bisesi et al 2014and Klaine 2014Clotfelter et al 2007;Gaworecki and Klaine 2008;Winder et al 2009). These studies mainly focus on targeted endpoints related to a known mechanism of action of SSRIs, such as monoamine reuptake inhibition.…”