title: Estrogenic activity of bio-degradation products of C-heavy oil revealed by gene-expression profiling using an oligo-DNA microarray system.
abstract: Degradation of heavy oil by bacteria to decompose organic compounds such as aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons has been used in bioremediation. However, the biological and environmental effects of the degradation products including intermediates are still not clear. Here, we monitored the degradation of C-heavy oil by analyzing the products formed in cultures with oil-degrading bacteria (complex microbes or a single bacterial strain). Furthermore, proliferation assays using breast cancer MCF-7 cells and gene-expression profiling of MCF-7 cells using oligonucleotide-DNA microarrays were performed to evaluate the estrogenic activity of the degradation products. While the products did not show any significant cell-proliferative activity, the oil samples cultured for longer periods (2-3 months), whether cultured with mixed microbes or a single bacterial strain, showed gene-expression profiles similar to that of 17β-estradiol (E2). These results suggest that oil-degradation products have estrogenic activity, and estrogen-like components could possibly be produced during the degradation process.
authors.affiliation: Signaling Molecules Research Group, Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higashihara
authors.forename: Ryoiti
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kiyama
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004958:Estradiol / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004967:Estrogens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D004958:Estradiol