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Reduction of vitellogenin synthesis by an aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist in the white sturgeon ( Acipenser Transmontamus )
Author(s) -
Palumbo Amanda J.,
Denison Michael S.,
Doroshov Serge I.,
Tjeerdema Ronald S.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1897/08-481.1
Subject(s) - vitellogenin , aryl hydrocarbon receptor , sturgeon , estrogen receptor , agonist , biology , medicine , chemistry , endocrinology , estrogen , environmental chemistry , receptor , biochemistry , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , cancer , breast cancer , transcription factor , gene , genetics
Migrating white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontamus) may be subject to agricultural, municipal, and industrial wastewater effluents that likely contain different classes of endocrine‐disrupting contaminants. Concern is mounting about the negative effects of environmental estrogens on fish reproduction; however, in environmental mixtures, the affects from estrogenic compounds may be suppressed by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands. Indeed, reductions in 17p‐estradiol‐induced (0.01 and 1 mg/kg) vitellogenin (VTG) levels were observed in white sturgeon coinjected with β‐naphthoflavone (BNF; 50 mg/kg), a model for contaminants that activate the AhR. Variation in the time of injection was used to attempt to correlate VTG inhibition to ethoxy‐resorufin‐O‐deethylase activity. No evidence was found to suggest that the inhibition of VTG is a direct result of enhanced estrogen metabolism by BNF‐induced enzymes. Results of the present study are relevant for monitoring programs that measure VTG, because these results show that AhR‐active environmental contaminants can repress VTG synthesis, which commonly is used as an indicator of estrogen‐mimicking contaminants. Furthermore, suppression of natural estrogen signaling by AhR agonists may have significant effects on fish reproduction.