Stress proteins as biomarkers of contaminant exposure in archived environmental samples

Stress proteins have been shown to provide information on the biological impact of toxic chemicals to organisms and to predict adverse consequences of that exposure. In this study we have examined the accumulation to two major stress proteins, hsp60 and hsp70, in banked samples to determine if they accumulate at high levels in organisms exposed to contaminants in their environment. We found that relative to laboratory controls, stress proteins concentrations were elevated in mussels and fish tissue collected as part of the NOAA National Status and Trends Program. Sediment and water chemistry from the stations where these organisms were collected and data on contaminant body burdens of these same organisms indicated that they had been exposed to contaminants for long durations in their environment. This study suggests that stress protein accumulation may provide a method for quantifying adverse biological impacts of exposure to chemicals in the environment when examined in wild populations from contaminated sites. This approach may also prove valuable in retrospective studies when used in banked specimens which have been collected as part of a large scale surveillance monitoring programs.