title: Detection of potential (anti)progestagenic endocrine disruptors using a recombinant human progesterone receptor binding and transactivation assay.
abstract: The present work describes the identification of (anti)progestin endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) using a two step screening system. In the first step a competitive binding assay was developed using recombinant human progesterone receptor (hPR). The tested chemicals were of various classes like insecticides, their metabolites, industrial chemicals and waste water treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. All the tested chemicals demonstrated a high affinity binding for hPR. The average IC50 values of the test chemicals were within the range of 1-25microM. In the second step of screening, a mammalian cell-based hPR transactivation assay was developed where HEK 293 cells were co-transfected with hPR and luciferase reporter gene under the control of progesterone-response element. Stimulation of the cells with progesterone resulted in about 25-fold up regulation of luciferase activity, with EC50 value of 4nM. Potent anti-progesterone, RU486, significantly inhibited progesterone-induced transactivation and non-progestagenic steroids failed to transactivate hPR till 1microM concentrations. The chemicals showing high binding affinities in competitive binding assays were then tested in transactivation assay and all of them were found to be anti-progestative except WWTP effluents. Transactivation assays using extracted water samples from five different WWTP effluents showed that it was rich in progestative compounds. The levels of induction caused by these effluents were in the range of 15-25% of induction by progesterone and they represented about 6ng/l equivalent progesterone activities. In conclusion, we demonstrated that this two step assay provides an efficient screening tool for the detection of (anti)progestative EDC in various samples.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand, India.
authors.forename: Gunda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viswanath
authors.forename: Sujata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Halder
authors.forename: Gunda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Divya
authors.forename: Chandrajeet B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Majumder
authors.forename: Partha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D001667:Binding, Competitive; D001681:Biological Assay; D002460:Cell Line; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006727:Hormone Antagonists / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism; D011372:Progestins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D020218:Response Elements / Q000187:drug effects*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D014162:Transfection; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D006727:Hormone Antagonists; D011372:Progestins; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011374:Progesterone