Liver microsomal levels of cytochrome P450IA1 as biomarker for exposure and bioavailability of soil-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The bioavailability of soil-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for mammalian species was studied with rats fed with a diet containing contaminated soil preparations. The extent of cytochrome P450IA1 (CYP1A1) induction in the liver correlated with the amount of 5- and 6-ring PAHs in the soil samples but not with the total PAH content. Other cytochromes P450 were much less affected by the soil-contaminants. The highest induction of CYP1A1 was obtained with a sample containing 274 mg 5- and 6-ring PAH/kg soil, resulting in a nearly 360-fold increase in the ethoxyresorufin deethylase (EROD) activity. In a semilogarithmic plot, a linear correlation was found between the 5- and 6-ring PAH concentration in the soil and the microsomal CYP1A1 content. As a model for the action of intestinal fluids, soil samples were extracted by bile acid solution. In these experiments, the selectivity in the solubilization of individual PAHs parallels that of toluene extraction, although the yield is lower than the latter and varies with the soil sample. The bioavailability of PAHs for microorganisms, but not for mammals, was shown to be considerably reduced in the presence of high total organic carbon (TOC) values of the soil samples. This may have implications for decontamination strategies, diminishing the effectiveness of biological decontamination in cases with high TOC values. The data suggest that CYP1A1 induction in rats is a parameter that may be useful in risk assessments of contaminated soils for mammalian species.