title: Xenoestrogenic effects of ethinylestradiol in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
abstract: To assess the estrogenic effects of ethinylestradiol on zebrafish, zebrafish at different developmental stages (embryos, juveniles, and adults) were exposed to the synthetic hormone ethinylestradiol (EE2) in concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 ng/L for up to 33 days. Survival, hatching, length, weight, growth, condition, hepatosomatic index, gonadosomatic index, and vitellogenin (VTG) production were examined. Exposure of zebrafish juveniles and embryos to 100 ng EE2/L for up to 33 days had significant effects on survival, growth, and hatching. Two VTG fragments with molecular weights of approximately 140 and 170 kDa were detected with protein electrophoresis and Western blotting in the blood of exposed males and exposed and unexposed females, as well as in whole-body homogenates of exposed and unexposed juveniles. Significantly higher VTG concentrations (compared to controls) were measured in adults exposed to 10 and 100 ng EE2/L for 14 days, but not in fish exposed to 1 ng EE2/L. This study demonstrated that (1) zebrafish juveniles, larvae, and embryos are sensitive to the toxic effects of the endocrine disrupter EE2; (2) the effects on VTG production in adults are detected after exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of EE2; (3) unexposed juvenile zebrafish produce measurable concentrations of VTG.
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, J. Plateaustraat 22, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. bram.versonnen@euras.be
authors.forename: Bram J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Versonnen
authors.forename: Colin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Janssen
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D004967:Estrogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D007814:Larva / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009026:Mortality; D012737:Sex Factors; D014819:Vitellogenins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D014819:Vitellogenins; D015262:Xenobiotics; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C486450:vtg1 protein, zebrafish; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol