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The toxicity of 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) to the early life stages of F1 generation brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) was determined, when dosed by maternal transfer. Effects were compared across six treatments, including a control. The experimental groups, based on TCDD concentrations in freshly spawned eggs (control, 41, 84, 156, 285, and 517 pg TCDD per gram egg [wet weight]), were established by treating 1.5-year-old brook trout with TCDD-dosed food throughout the period beginning with final gonadal maturation and continuing until just prior to spawning. Measurement endpoints assessed at various times throughout the study, included (1) TCDD and lipid concentrations in ovaries, eggs, alevins, and juvenile fish, (2) mortality, (3) fertility indices, (4) growth, (5) juvenile sex ratios, (6) pathology, and (7) cytochrome P4501A1 mRNA (CYPIA1) levels in embryos. The cumulative lethality dose response was determined just prior to hatch, at swim-up, and at the end of the study. The concentration in eggs causing 50% mortality (LCegg50) at swim-up and at the end of the study were 138 and 127 pg TCDD per gram egg, respectively. No treatment effects were observed on fertility, growth, or juvenile sex ratios. Pathologies were observed that have been previously reported in TCDD-exposed salmonid embryos, including edema in free embryos from all TCDD-exposed treatment groups at hatch. At the end of the test, juvenile fish from all treatments exhibited an increased prevalence of exophthalmia compared to the controls. The ECegg50 for this effect was 117 pg TCDD per gram egg. Histological analysis of the end-of-test juveniles, in gonad, nerve, vertebrae, neuromasts, liver, kidney, gut, gas bladder, skin, and blood vessels, did not indicate any significant pathology below the LCegg50. P4501A1 mRNA levels in whole 91-d postspawn free embryos from the 84 pg TCDD per gram egg treatment were 2.8 times higher compared with control or 41-pg TCDD per gram egg treatments. Results from this study were consistent with other published results of TCDD effects on salmonids, in which the exposures occurred after fertilization.

Thyroid gland explant cultures from prometamorphic Xenopus laevis tadpoles were evaluated for their utility in assessing chemicals for thyroid hormone (TH) synthesis disruption. The response of cultured thyroid glands to bovine thyroid stimulating hormone (bTSH) and the TH synthesis inhibitors methimazole, 6-propylthiouracil, and perchlorate was determined. Thyroid glands continuously exposed for 12 days to graded concentrations of bTSH released thyroxine (T4) in a dose-dependent manner. Over time, the glands appeared to reach a constant daily rate of T4 release. This suggested that the T4 stores in the glands were initially depleted but continuous release was maintained by synthesis of new hormone. The potency of methimazole, 6-propylthiouracil, and perchlorate for inhibiting T4 release was determined using glands cotreated with a single maximally effective bTSH concentration and graded concentrations of chemical. Inhibition of T4 release was dose dependent for all three chemicals. Perchlorate was the most potent inhibitor of T4 release. Methimazole and 6-propylthiouracil exhibited lower potency than perchlorate but similar potency to each other. The IC(50) (mean ± SD) for inhibition of T4 release by the thyroid glands was 1.2 ± 0.55, 8.6 ± 1.3, and 13 ± 4.0 μM for perchlorate, 6-propylthiouracil, and methimazole, respectively. This model system shows promise as a tool to evaluate the potency of chemicals that inhibit T4 release from thyroid glands and may be predictive of in vivo T4 synthesis inhibition in prometamorphic tadpoles.

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) are one of the most widely-used small fish models for regulatory ecotoxicology testing and research related to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In this study, we isolated and sequenced cDNAs for fathead minnow follicle-stimulating hormone-like and luteinizing hormone-like β (FSHβ and LHβ) and glycoprotein α (GPα) subunits. Quantitative real-time PCR assays for measuring gonadotropin (GtH) β subunit transcripts were developed and used to examine “baseline” transcript levels over a range of age classes and reproductive states encompassed in EDC testing. In females, FSHβ and LHβ transcripts were greater in 4-5 month old than in younger fish and were significantly correlated with one another across all age classes examined. In males, FSHβ transcripts were greatest in 2-3 month old fish and were inversely correlated with various measures of testis development including, gonadal-somatic index (GSI), and histological stage. Overall, the pattern of GtHβ expression over age classes associated with gonad development was similar to that reported for other asynchronous-spawning fish. Despite significant changes in female GSI, gonad stage, and plasma vitellogenin within 24 h of spawning, GtHβ transcript levels in fish that had spawned within the preceding 24 h were not significantly different from those in fish that weremore » 2-3 days post-spawn and expected to spawn within the next 24 h based on spawning history. Results of this study provide insights related to the role of GtHs in fathead minnow reproductive development and function. Additionally they provide useful “baseline” data needed to design and interpret effective experiments for studying direct and indirect effects of EDCs on GtH subunit mRNA expression, which will facilitate a greater understanding of integrated system-wide responses of the fathead minnow brain-pituitary-gonadal axis to stressors including EDCs.« less

Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is a widespread environmental contaminant emanating from the production and/or metabolism of fluorinated chemicals with a variety of applications. The goal of this work was to assess the toxicity and bioconcentration of PFOS in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). Sexually mature fish were exposed via the water for 21 d to 0 (control), 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, or 1 mg PFOS/L, and effects on reproductive capacity and endocrinology were assessed. To determine possible developmental effects, a subset of embryos from parental exposures at each test concentration were held for an additional 24 d in the same PFOS treatments. A concentration of I mg PFOS/L was lethal to adults within two weeks. The 21-d 50% effect concentration (95% confidence interval) for effects on fecundity of the fish was 0.23 (0.19-0.25) mg PFOS/L. Exposure to PFOS caused various histopathological alterations, most prominently in ovaries of adult females. Adult males exposed to 0.3 mg PFOS/L for 21 d exhibited decreased aromatase activity and elevated concentrations of plasma 11-ketotestosterone and testosterone. No significant adverse effects on survival or growth were observed in developing fathead minnows held for 24 d at PFOS concentrations up to 0.3 mg/L. Adult fathead minnows readily accumulated PFOS from the water. The largest concentrations of PFOS were in blood, followed by liver and then gonad; for all tissues, females accumulated higher concentrations than males. Water and tissue concentrations of PFOS associated with effects in this study exceeded those reported for samples collected from the field by two to three orders of magnitude, suggesting that the current risk of PFOS on aspects of fish reproduction and development assessed in this study would be small.

Many chemicals that adversely affect reproduction and/or development do so through multiple pathways within the reproductive tract and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Notable in this regard are fungicides, such as prochloraz or fenarimol, which in mammals have the potential to impact endocrine function through inhibition of CYP enzymes involved in steroid metabolism, as well as through antagonism of the androgen receptor(s). The objective of our studies was to assess the effects of prochloraz and fenarimol on reproductive endocrine function in a model small fish species, the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), using both in vitro and in vivo assays. The two fungicides inhibited in vitro CYP19 aromatase activity in brain and ovarian homogenates from the fish, with prochloraz exhibiting a greater potency than fenarimol. Prochloraz and fenarimol also bound competitively to the cloned fathead minnow androgen receptor expressed in COS-1 cells. The two fungicides significantly reduced fecundity of the fish in a 21-day reproduction assay at water concentrations of 0.1 (prochloraz) and 1.0 (fenarimol) mg/l. The in vivo effects of prochloraz on plasma steroid (17beta-estradiol, testosterone, 11-ketotestosterone) and vitellogenin (an estrogen-responsive protein) concentrations, as well as on gonadal histopathology, were consistent with inhibition of steroidogenesis. Fenarimol also affected several aspects of endocrine function in vivo; however, the suite of observed effects did not reflect either aromatase inhibition or androgen receptor antagonism. These studies contribute to a better mechanistic understanding of the extrapolation of effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals across vertebrate classes.

Prometon is one of the most consistently detected herbicides in the U.S. environment. However, no previous assessment of the potential for prometon or related methoxytriazine herbicides to act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals has been conducted. This study used an array of in vitro bioassays to assess whether prometon, atraton, terbumeton, or secbumeton might act as potent (ant)agonists of the aryl hydrocarbon, estrogen, androgen, or glucocorticoid receptors or as aromatase inhibitors or inducers in vitro. Potential effects of prometon were also evaluated using a 21-d fathead minnow reproduction assay. Concentrations of methoxytriazines, as great as 1 mg/L (4.4 microM), did not induce significant dioxin-like responses in H4IIE-luc cells, estrogenic responses in MVLN cells, or androgen or glucocorticoid receptor-mediated responses in MDA-kb2 cells, nor did the methoxytriazines significantly affect aromatase activity in vitro. In the fathead minnow assay, exposure to 20, 200, or 1,000 microg prometon/L significantly reduced the weight of the male fat pad (an androgen-responsive tissue) relative to body weight. Exposure to 20 microg prometon/L significantly increased female plasma testosterone concentrations, but the effect was not observed at greater concentrations. Overall, prometon did not significantly reduce fecundity over the 21-d exposure, nor were other endpoints, including plasma vitellogenin and estradiol concentrations, brain and ovary aromatase activity, and male tubercle index, significantly affected. Evidence from our work suggests that prometon may cause subtle endocrine and/or reproductive effects in fathead minnows, but no clear mechanism of action was observed. The relevance of these effects to hazard assessment for the pesticide is uncertain.