Persistent organic pollutants in wild seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) from the Northeast atlantic coastal regions and relationship with thyroid hormone levels

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides like Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDTs), Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), Aldrin and Dieldrin were analysed in the muscle of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) sampled in coastal regions near several important European river mouths (Garonne, Charente, Loire, Seine and Scheldt). These organochlorinated compounds are known to influence the endocrine system of many fish species and mammals and are thus qualified as endocrine disrupters. To highlight a potentially harmful effect of these compounds on the thyroid function of these fishes, we measured the muscular concentrations of thyroid hormones T3 and T4 by Radio-Immuno-Assay.
The contamination levels were as follows: the highest concentrations were measured in individuals collected from the coastal region near the Scheldt > Seine > Loire > Charente and the lowest levels were observed in sea bass from coastal regions near the Garonne (from 2422 to 6188 ng.g-1 lw). The measured levels were generally higher than those reported in literature in sea bass from other regions in the Mediterranean Sea. Contamination patterns were different depending on the sampling area and thus the river input of pollutants.
The multivariate statistical analysis revealed a significant relationship between the measured persistent organic pollutants and thyroid hormones in muscle. We cannot exclude the assumption that an endocrine disruption of the thyroid related to these pollutants could be the origin of these modifications of the thyroid hormone concentrations.