title: Proliferative effects of estradiol, progesterone, and two CB congeners and their metabolites on gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) uterine myocytes in vitro.
abstract: Gray seal females living in the Baltic Sea have been found to exhibit a high prevalence of uterine leiomyomas. These animals are also known to accumulate lipid-soluble PCBs in their blubber. PCBs have documented endocrine-disrupting effects; to investigate whether the PCBs could be part of the genesis of uterine smooth muscle tumors in this species, gray seal myometrial cell cultures were exposed to two CBs and their metabolites, as well as to estradiol and progesterone, after which the effects were analyzed in terms of proliferative activity by measurements of BrdU absorbance and protein content. Progesterone was found to have an inhibitory effect, whereas one CB acted as a stimulant on the myometrial cell proliferation. One of the CB metabolites also seemed to have an inhibitory effect, although this could not be statistically verified. These results suggest that some CBs have effects on uterine myometrial cell proliferation in gray seals and, thus, may also take part in the growth regulation of uterine leiomyomas.
authors.affiliation: Swedish Museum of Natural History, Contamination Research Group, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Britt-Marie
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Bäcklin
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bredhult
authors.forename: Matts
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olovsson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D009215:Myometrium / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000633:toxicity*; D046048:Seals, Earless
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; C070055:2,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol; C009828:2,4,5,2',5'-pentachlorobiphenyl; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls