Retrospective non-target analysis to support regulatory water monitoring: from masses of interest to recommendations via in silico workflows

in Environmental Sciences Europe (2021), 33(1), 43

Abstract Background Applying non-target analysis (NTA) in regulatory environmental monitoring remains challenging—instead of having exploratory questions, regulators usually already have specific ... [more ▼]

Abstract Background Applying non-target analysis (NTA) in regulatory environmental monitoring remains challenging—instead of having exploratory questions, regulators usually already have specific questions related to environmental protection aims. Additionally, data analysis can seem overwhelming because of the large data volumes and many steps required. This work aimed to establish an open in silico workflow to identify environmental chemical unknowns via retrospective NTA within the scope of a pre-existing Swiss environmental monitoring campaign focusing on industrial chemicals. The research question addressed immediate regulatory priorities: identify pollutants with industrial point sources occurring at the highest intensities over two time points. Samples from 22 wastewater treatment plants obtained in 2018 and measured using liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry were retrospectively analysed by (i) performing peak-picking to identify masses of interest; (ii) prescreening and quality-controlling spectra, and (iii) tentatively identifying priority “known unknown” pollutants by leveraging environmentally relevant chemical information provided by Swiss, Swedish, EU-wide, and American regulators. This regulator-supplied information was incorporated into MetFrag, an in silico identification tool replete with “post-relaunch” features used here. This study’s unique regulatory context posed challenges in data quality and volume that were directly addressed with the prescreening, quality control, and identification workflow developed. Results One confirmed and 21 tentative identifications were achieved, suggesting the presence of compounds as diverse as manufacturing reagents, adhesives, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals in the samples. More importantly, an in-depth interpretation of the results in the context of environmental regulation and actionable next steps are discussed. The prescreening and quality control workflow is openly accessible within the R package Shinyscreen, and adaptable to any (retrospective) analysis requiring automated quality control of mass spectra and non-target identification, with potential applications in environmental and metabolomics analyses. Conclusions NTA in regulatory monitoring is critical for environmental protection, but bottlenecks in data analysis and results interpretation remain. The prescreening and quality control workflow, and interpretation work performed here are crucial steps towards scaling up NTA for environmental monitoring. [less ▲]

Discovering Pesticides and their Transformation Products in Luxembourg Waters using Open Cheminformatics Approaches

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Abstract The diversity of hundreds of thousands of potential organic pollutants and the lack of (publicly available) information about many of them is a huge challenge for environmental sciences ... [more ▼]

Abstract The diversity of hundreds of thousands of potential organic pollutants and the lack of (publicly available) information about many of them is a huge challenge for environmental sciences, engineering, and regulation. Suspect screening based on high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) has enormous potential to help characterize the presence of these chemicals in our environment, enabling the detection of known and newly emerging pollutants, as well as their potential transformation products (TPs). Here, suspect list creation (focusing on pesticides relevant for Luxembourg, incorporating data sources in 4 languages) was coupled to an automated retrieval of related TPs from PubChem based on high confidence suspect hits, to screen for pesticides and their TPs in Luxembourgish river samples. A computational workflow was established to combine LC-HRMS analysis and pre-screening of the suspects (including automated quality control steps), with spectral annotation to determine which pesticides and, in a second step, their related TPs may be present in the samples. The data analysis with Shinyscreen (https://git-r3lab.uni.lu/eci/shinyscreen/), an open source software developed in house, coupled with custom-made scripts, revealed the presence of 162 potential pesticide masses and 135 potential TP masses in the samples. Further identification of these mass matches was performed using the open source MetFrag (https://msbi.ipb-halle.de/MetFrag/). Eventual target analysis of 36 suspects resulted in 31 pesticides and TPs confirmed at Level-1 (highest confidence), and five pesticides and TPs not confirmed due to different retention times. Spatio-temporal analysis of the results showed that TPs and pesticides followed similar trends, with a maximum number of potential detections in July. The highest detections were in the rivers Alzette and Mess and the lowest in the Sûre and Eisch. This study (a) added pesticides, classification information and related TPs into the open domain, (b) developed automated open source retrieval methods - both enhancing FAIRness (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) of the data and methods; and (c) will directly support “L’Administration de la Gestion de l’Eau” on further monitoring steps in Luxembourg. [less ▲]

Retrospective Non-target Analysis to Support Regulatory Water Monitoring: From Masses of Interest to Recommendations via in silico workflows

in Environmental Sciences Europe (2020)

Connecting environmental exposure and neurodegeneration using cheminformatics and high resolution mass spectrometry: potential and challenges

in Environmental Science. Processes and Impacts (2019)

Connecting chemical exposures over a lifetime to complex chronic diseases with multifactorial causes such as neurodegenerative diseases is an immense challenge requiring a long-term, interdisciplinary ... [more ▼]

Connecting chemical exposures over a lifetime to complex chronic diseases with multifactorial causes such as neurodegenerative diseases is an immense challenge requiring a long-term, interdisciplinary approach. Rapid developments in analytical and data technologies, such as non-target high resolution mass spectrometry (NT-HR-MS), have opened up new possibilities to accomplish this, inconceivable 20 years ago. While NT-HR-MS is being applied to increasingly complex research questions, there are still many unidentified chemicals and uncertainties in linking exposures to human health outcomes and environmental impacts. In this perspective, we explore the possibilities and challenges involved in using cheminformatics and NT-HR-MS to answer complex questions that cross many scientific disciplines, taking the identification of potential (small molecule) neurotoxicants in environmental or biological matrices as a case study. We explore capturing literature knowledge and patient exposure information in a form amenable to high-throughput data mining, and the related cheminformatic challenges. We then briefly cover which sample matrices are available, which method(s) could potentially be used to detect these chemicals in various matrices and what remains beyond the reach of NT-HR-MS. We touch on the potential for biological validation systems to contribute to mechanistic understanding of observations and explore which sampling and data archiving strategies may be required to form an accurate, sustained picture of small molecule signatures on extensive cohorts of patients with chronic neurodegenerative disorders. Finally, we reflect on how NT-HR-MS can support unravelling the contribution of the environment to complex diseases. [less ▲]

Binding of iodinated contrast media (ICM) and their transformation products with hormone receptors: Are ICM the new EDCs?

in Science of the Total Environment (2019)

Iodinated contrast media (ICM) have been detected at high concentrations (as high as about 3 μg/L) in surface water systems, and recently in fish brains and gonad. The mismatch between the polarity of ICM ... [more ▼]

Iodinated contrast media (ICM) have been detected at high concentrations (as high as about 3 μg/L) in surface water systems, and recently in fish brains and gonad. The mismatch between the polarity of ICM and the high lipid content of brain raises questions on whether their bioaccumulation is receptor-mediated. Furthermore, the structural similarity of ICM to the natural thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine suggest potential binding of ICM to nuclear receptors in the endocrine system. Therefore, an in silico approach based on Surflex-Dock module of SYBYL was used to investigate the molecular docking of selected ICM (diatrizoic acid, iohexol, iopamidol, and iopromide). These ICM showed interaction with nuclear receptors that play key roles in endocrine regulation, including the androgen and estrogen receptors. Furthermore, the results indicate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg) as one of the viable targets in the endocrine disrupting potential of ICM with higher Cscores for the ICM and iopromide transformation products than the reference ligand for the receptor. The data obtained from in silico calculations showed stronger binding of iohexol to the transthyretin-binding pocket compared to the natural hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine, suggesting the potential of ICM to act as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment. [less ▲]

Microbiota alter metabolism and mediate neurodevelopmental toxicity of 17β-estradiol

in Scientific Reports (2019), 9(1), 7064

Estrogenic chemicals are widespread environmental contaminants associated with diverse health and ecological effects. During early vertebrate development, estrogen receptor signaling is critical for many ... [more ▼]

Estrogenic chemicals are widespread environmental contaminants associated with diverse health and ecological effects. During early vertebrate development, estrogen receptor signaling is critical for many different physiologic responses, including nervous system function. Recently, host-associated microbiota have been shown to influence neurodevelopment. Here, we hypothesized that microbiota may biotransform exogenous 17-βestradiol (E2) and modify E2 effects on swimming behavior. Colonized zebrafish were continuously exposed to non-teratogenic E2 concentrations from 1 to 10 days post-fertilization (dpf). Changes in microbial composition and predicted metagenomic function were evaluated. Locomotor activity was assessed in colonized and axenic (microbe-free) zebrafish exposed to E2 using a standard light/dark behavioral assay. Zebrafish tissue was collected for chemistry analyses. While E2 exposure did not alter microbial composition or putative function, colonized E2-exposed larvae showed reduced locomotor activity in the light, in contrast to axenic E2-exposed larvae, which exhibited normal behavior. Measured E2 concentrations were significantly higher in axenic relative to colonized zebrafish. Integrated peak area for putative sulfonated and glucuronidated E2 metabolites showed a similar trend. These data demonstrate that E2 locomotor effects in the light phase are dependent on the presence of microbiota and suggest that microbiota influence chemical E2 toxicokinetics. More broadly, this work supports the concept that microbial colonization status may influence chemical toxicity. [less ▲]