Identification of an albumin-like protein in plasma of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and its biomarker potential for PAH contamination

Karianne Skogland Enerstvedt; Magne O Sydnes; Daniela M Pampanin

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00367

Identification of an albumin-like protein in plasma of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and its biomarker potential for PAH contamination

Heliyon. 2017 Aug 10;3(8):e00367. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00367. eCollection 2017 Aug.

Authors

Karianne Skogland Enerstvedt^{1

2}, Magne O Sydnes², Daniela M Pampanin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ International Research Institute of Stavanger (IRIS) - Environmental Department, Mekjarvik 12, NO-4070 Randaberg, Norway.
² Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Stavanger, NO-4036 Stavanger, Norway.

Abstract

Increased research efforts are currently focusing on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and its significance for monitoring the contaminant situation in marine environments. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well known toxic and carcinogenic compounds, thus continuous monitoring is required to ensure ecosystem sustainability and human food safety. A sensitive biomarker of PAH exposure in humans is the detection of PAH metabolites bound to albumin in blood. The potential of a similar PAH-albumin biomarker in Atlantic cod was therefore investigated by a desktop bioinformatic study followed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry analysis of plasma from 16 fish. For the first time, an albumin-like protein in plasma of Atlantic cod is described, and the biomarker potential based on PAH-albumin adduct detection is discussed. Due to the detected low abundance of the albumin-like protein, it was found unlikely to be applicable as a new biomarker tool for evaluation of PAH exposure.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Biological sciences; Environmental science; Toxicology.