The effect of 17α-ethynylestradiol on steroidogenesis and gonadal cytokine gene expression is related to the reproductive stage in marine hermaphrodite fish.

ABSTRACT: Pollutants have been reported to disrupt the endocrine system of marine animals, which may be exposed through contaminated seawater or through the food chain. Although 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE₂), a drug used in hormone therapies, is widely present in the aquatic environment, current knowledge on the sensitivity of marine fish to estrogenic pollutants is limited. We report the effect of the dietary intake of 5 µg EE₂/g food on different processes of testicular physiology, ranging from steroidogenesis to pathogen recognition, at both pre-spermatogenesis (pre-SG) and spermatogenesis (SG) reproductive stages, of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.), a marine hermaphrodite teleost. A differential effect between pre-SG and SG specimens was detected in the sex steroid serum levels and in the expr

SUBMITTER: Cabas I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3877897 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature