Claudio Erratico

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are man-made chemical compounds which retard the development of fire. Therefore, PBDEs help save human lives. PBDEs have been added to many everyday use products such as clothes, furniture, electronics, and car parts for several decades now. PBDEs have been found to bioaccumulate in human and wildlife species, with levels steadily increasing at least during the last two decades. Among the many factors that determine the bioaccumulation of pollutants, metabolism is a key one. In particular, cytochrome P450 has a main role in starting the oxidative metabolism of many compounds. However, P450-mediated metabolism of PBDEs has not received much attention yet. My project deals with the in vitro investigation of P450-mediated metabolism of BDE-99, a major PBDE. The method I developed to measure the formation of BDE-99 metabolites in vitro will be applied to rats (as animal models), humans, and wildlife species comprising a Pacific aquatic food chain (i.e. salmon, seals, killer whales, and polar bears). Knowledge regarding BDE-99 metabolism will provide insight into (i) which metabolites and in what amounts humans and wildlife species are exposed to; and (ii) which species are likely to be exposed to the highest metabolite-mediated toxicological risk. Toxicity of the metabolites will be investigated in the second part of my project.