Quantitation of CYP1A expression in two flatfish species showing different prevalences of contaminant-induced hepatic disease

English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus) and starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus) are two sympatric flatfish species which show markedly different responses to chemical contaminant exposure. Whereas English sole develop hepatic neoplasms, the prevalences of which are strongly linked to exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), evidence of neoplasia is virtually nonexistent in starry flounder, even those residing in areas with very high levels of PAH in the sediments. Because PAHs are activated to genotoxic forms by the action of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) in teleosts, we are examining the hypothesis that variation in the hepatic expression of this major inducible cytochrome P450 isozyme may contribute to the differential contaminant response. These two species were captured in the Duwamish Waterway, a contaminated area of Puget Sound, Washington. Catalytic activity of CYP1A [determined as aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity] was measured in the liver to quantitatively assess the relative induction of CYP1A in these two species, and AHH activity was significantly higher in English sole than in starry flounder (p = 0.015). Cellular expression of CYP1A was determined by immunohistochemical localization of tissues, using an avidin-biotin peroxidase complex method with polyclonal rabbit anti-cod CYP1A. The results showed a markedly reduced expression of CYP1A in hepatocytes of starry flounder, which is consistent with the apparent resistance of this species to the development of hepatocellular neoplasia. This reduced expression of CYP1A in hepatocytes of contaminant-exposed fish was previously seen in oyster toadfish from the Elizabeth River, Virginia, and this species is also apparently resistant to hepatocellular neoplasia. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.