Cyanotoxins%20

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Cyanotoxins HumanHealth

• Alison Reeve
• Jiaxin Yu
• Marshall Ambros
• Rachel Beauregard
• Steve Hoffmann

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Problem Statement
Cyanobacteria are capable of producing toxins and
have been linked to human health concerns
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Objectives

• Study the behavior of cyanotoxins in the
  environment and the human body
• Thoroughly investigate cyanotoxin's effects on
  human health in the Lake Champlain Basin. 
• Determine precautionary measures to prevent the
  toxins from further impacting human life and the
  environment.

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Cyanobacteria History

• Theyve been around for 2 billion years
• Research on cyanobacteria toxicity began 19th
  century
• Incidence of disease in 20th century caused by
• Population pressure
• Global warming
• Eutrophication of surface waters
• Increased monitoring/awareness
• Unknown factors?

Charmichael 2001
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Cyanotoxin Receptors

• Humans
• Livestock
• Ducks
• Zooplankton (some indication)
• Fish?
• Shellfish?

DeMott 1991, EPA 2005
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Exposure

• Eating contaminated food
• Drinking contaminated water
• Swimming or dermal exposure
• Inhalation

• ALS
• Gastroenteritis, liver and kidney damage, death
• Skin rashes
• Irritation of eyes, nose, throat, skin, and
  respiratory tract

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Cyanobacteria

• Prokaryotic
• Photosynthesizing
• Important primary producer in aquatic ecosystems
• Nuisance blooms in eutrophic environments
• Some species produce toxins

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Eutrophication

• Phosphorus loading
• Agricultural runoff
• Stormwater runoff
• Algae Blooms

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/DairyCattle.jpg
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ing/Stormwater.jpg
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Algae Blooms

• Other Contributing Factors
• Nitrogen concentrations
• Water temperature
• Light
• Morphology of the impoundment
• Effects on Ecosystem
• Anoxia
• Toxic Blooms

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Toxic Cyanobacteria

• 2,000 species 40 known to produce toxins
• Anabaena spp.
• Microcystis spp.
• Planktothrix spp.
• Nostoc spp.
• Nodularia spumigena

http//www.shigen.nig.ac.jp/algae/images/strainsim
age/nies-0075.jpg
www.igb-berlin.de/.../phycology/algae2.jpg
www.icb.ufmg.br/big/lgar/img_t3.jpg
http//www.soes.soton.ac.uk/staff/tt/nf/pics/nodus
p6.jpg
Microcystis aeruginosa
Planktothrix rubescens
Nodularia spumigena
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Cyanotoxins
Saxitoxin

• Neurotoxins
• Anatoxin-a
• Anatoxin-as
• Saxitoxin
• ß-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA)
• Hepatotoxins
• Microsystin-LR
• Nodularin-R
• Cytotoxins
• Cylindrospermopsin
• Gastrointestinal and dermatotoxins
• Aplysiatoxin
• Lyngbyatoxin a

Anatoxin-as
Anatoxin-a
BMAA
Nodularin R
Microcystin LN
Cylindrospermopsin
Aplysiatoxin
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Neurotoxins

• Anatoxin-a mimics acetylcholine
• Anatoxin-as is structurally different from
  Anatoxina and is highly toxic
• Saxitoxin is usually associated with red tides in
  marine ecosystems
• Responsible for paralytic shelfish poisoning
• Been detected in some freshwater species

Acetylcholine
Anatoxin-a
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Hepatotoxins

• Cyclic peptides
• Cause liver damage
• Long term exposure can lead to liver cancer

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Past Cases

• First known linked case found in Guam
• Caruaru, Brazil, Summer 1996
• Dialysis center used water contaminated with
  microcystins
• 23 patients died in first 2 weeks, 37 more within
  5 weeks

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Funari E, Testai E. Toxigenic cyanobacteria from
marine, brackish and freshwaters. Chart. Critical
Reviews in Toxicology, Feb2008 38(2)98
Available from Academic Search Premier, Ipswich,
MA. Accessed March 20, 2010.
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Funari E, Testai E. Toxigenic cyanobacteria from
marine, brackish and freshwaters. Chart. Critical
Reviews in Toxicology, Feb2008 38(2) 101
Available from Academic Search Premier, Ipswich,
MA. Accessed March 20, 2010.
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BMAAneurotoxin

• Caused by over 30 species of cyanobacteria
• Ex. Microcystis, Anabaena, Nostoc, Planktothrix
• Can cause motor neuron disease or death
• Accumulates in brain tissue
• Found in Guam and linked to ALS

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS)

• Neurodegenerative disease
• About 2 per 100,000 people in US
• Can be caused by the neurotoxin BMAA
• Symptoms
• Muscle weakness (including speech muscles)
• Twitching and cramping of muscles
• Trouble with speech
• Shortness of breath, trouble swallowing
• Death by suffocation

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Parkinsons Disease(PD)

• Neurodegenerative Disease
• Symptoms
• Rigidity of muscles, slowing of movement
• Muscle spasms or tremors
• Loss of smell, blinking, smiling
• Speech changes (soft, monotone, repetition)
• Dementia in later stages

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Alzheimers

• 7th leading cause of death
• Most common form of dementia
• Destroys brain cells leading to memory loss,
  confusion, changes in personality, mood,
  behavior, problems with language

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Primary Liver Cancer (PLC)

• Most common form of liver cancer
• About 90 of liver cancer patients have this form
• Low 5-year survival rate
• 1.6 million people are diagnosed every year

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Water Treatment Techniques

• Must use several methods in conjunction to
  eliminate both cells and toxins
• Coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation are good
  first steps, followed by
• filtration with membrane, sand or activated
  charcoal
• Final treatment with UV light or ozone

• Burlington water intake is located in deep
  water, forty feet below the surface. Cyanotoxins
  and cells accumulate in shallows and near water
  surface.

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Still Unknown

• Why certain species of cyanobacteria produce
  toxins only sometimes
• If chronic diseases are actually caused by
  cyanotoxins
• What causes algal blooms
• What factors besides shallow, stagnant water and
  phosphorus loading
• How to effectively remove cyanotoxins from water

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Exposure in Lake Champlain

• Algal blooms in St. Albans Bay and Mississquoi
  Bay not all toxic
• Drinking water- only during major blooms
• Ingestion or dermal contact
• Swimming- dermal contact
• Can lead to acute or chronic diseases, none
  reported thus far
• Dog deaths from swimming
• Only problem in summer

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Algae via Remote Sensing

• Can detect different types of blooms using aerial
  imagery
• Each bloom has a different color
• Color change from Southern to Northern lake due
  to blooms in the summer
• Apparent on Google Maps

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Potential Cyanotoxin Producing Species in Lake
Champlain
  2003 Frequency of Occurrence - Percent of Samples 2003 Frequency of Occurrence - Percent of Samples 2003 Frequency of Occurrence - Percent of Samples 2003 Frequency of Occurrence - Percent of Samples
Taxon Main Lake South Lake Missisquoi Bay St Albans and other Northeastern Bays
Anabaena flos-aquae 83 29 57 53
Anabaena spp. 51 50 43 58
Microcystis aeruginosa 47 43 94 56
Coelosphaerium spp. 34 29 4 44
Gloeotrichia spp. 1 0 5 9
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae 73 43 22 49
Samples Analyzed 102 14 175 45
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Lake Champlains Algae Problem

• Not sure what causes toxicity
• Algae blooms are caused by
• P/Nutrient/N cycles thrown off
• Lack of/not enough BMPs in place
• Missisquoi Bridge
• Turtle Habitat
• Urban/Residential runoff
• Transportation

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Wetlands

• Many wetlands have reached their holding
  capacities for nutrients
• LCBP wetland preservation
• Nutrients released when wetlands are destroyed
• Could construct more in key areas, but it would
  only be a temporary fix

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Recommendations
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The Three Aspects

• Prevention
• Increase public and government awareness
• Continuation of research and monitoring

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Prevention

• To prevent cyanobacterial blooms
• To prevent human exposure to cyanotoxins

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Cyanobacterial Bloom Prevention

• Prioritization
• Riparian Buffers
• Constructed Wetlands

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Human Exposure Prevention

• Water treatment methods and technology
• Coagulation/Flocculation/filtration UV light
  treatment
• Provisional guidelines (World Health
  Organization)

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Public Awareness

• Get Connected
• Clean Water Action
• Be Informed
• Demand Actions

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Monitoring

• Areas with repetitive cyanobacterial blooms
• Areas with cyanotoxin exposure reports

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Research

• The behaviors and mechanisms of the cyanobacteria
  and toxins in both water and the human body.
• To develop effective water treatment

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Questions?
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Resources

• DeMott, W.R. et al. (1991) Effects of Toxic
  Cyanobacteria and Purified Toxins on the Survival
  and Feeding of a Copepod and Three Species of
  Daphnia. Carmichael Limnology and Oceanography,
  36, 7, 1346-1357.
• International Symposium on Cyanobacterial
  Harmful Algal Blooms. 2005 U.S. Environmental
  Protection Agency
  lthttp//www.epa.gov/cyano_ha
  bs_symposium/gt
• Carmichael, WW. (2001) Health Effects of
  Toxin-Producing Cyanobacteria The CyanoHABs.
  Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 7, 5,
  1393-1407.
• Parkinsons.org
• Alsa.org
• Alz.org
• LCBP.org