The in vivo ECODSed assay: an optimised method for measuring cytochrome P450 activity in sediment-dwelling organisms

Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes are central to xenobiotic biotransformation, yet traditional in vivo water-based ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase (ECOD) assays are not an efficient method for deposit-feeding species. We developed and validated ECODSed, a sediment-integrated in vivo assay, by incorporating sediment through both pre-exposure and assay phases. ECODSed reflects environmentally relevant exposure pathways for species exposed to sediment-associated contaminants during ingestion. We evaluated three assay formats representing different pre-exposure scenarios prior to assessing ECOD in vivo, namely ECODSed14 (14-day pre-exposure), ECODSed7 (7-day pre-exposure), and Quick ECODSed (no pre-exposure). We found that CYP inducers, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fluoranthene (FLUO), had the strongest induction of ECOD activity after 14 days in ECODSed14 (∼55%, PCB), and after 7 days in ECODSed7 (∼129%; FLUO). In both ECODSed7 and ECODSed14, the antidepressant sertraline (SER; CYP inhibitor) produced persistently lower activity (∼30% on average) than controls. In the Quick assay, sertraline significantly inhibited activity (∼50%), while fluoranthene showed no deviation from controls. Overall, the hierarchy of ECOD activity followed: fluoranthene > PCBs > control > sertraline. Our results demonstrate that ECODSed reliably captures chemical-specific metabolic dynamics across multiple exposure durations in vivo.
Together, the three ECODSed assays establish a tiered framework that allows users to match assay duration and complexity. The Quick assay offers rapid screening of chemical modulators, species responses, substrate suitability; ECODSed7 captures early phase induction dynamics; ECODSed14 reveals sustained metabolic responses under long term exposure. ECODSed advances CYP450 mediated activity assessment in sediment dwelling organisms, enabling rapid evaluations and deeper mechanistic insight into contaminant effects.