Induction of Gene Expression in Sheepshead Minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) Treated with 17β-Estradiol, Diethylstilbestrol, or Ethinylestradiol: The Use of mRNA Fingerprints as an Indicator of Gene Regulation

The recent interest in hormonally active environmental contaminants has sparked a drive to find sensitive methods to measure their effects on wildlife. A molecular-based assay has been developed to measure the induction of gene expression in sheepshead minnows ( Cyprinodon variegatus ) exposed in vivo to the natural and pharmaceutical estrogens 17β-estradiol, ethinylestradiol, and diethylstilbestrol. This method used differential display reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays to compare the expression of individual mRNAs from control and estrogen-exposed fish. Forty-eight differentially expressed cDNAs were isolated by this method, including cDNAs for vitelline envelope proteins and vitellogenin. The mRNA expression patterns for fish injected with a pharmacological dose of estradiol (5 mg/kg) were identical to those obtained in fish receiving constant aqueous exposure to 212 ng estradiol/liter. Further, the cDNA “fingerprint” pattern observed in the estradiol-treated fish also matched that obtained in fish receiving continuous-flow aqueous exposures to 192 ng ethinyl estradiol/liter and a nominal concentration of 200 ng diethylstilbestrol/liter. The results demonstrate a characteristic expression pattern for genes upregulated by exposure to a variety of natural and anthropogenic estrogens and suggest this approach may be valuable to examine the potential effects of environmental contaminants on other endocrine-mediated pathways of reproduction, growth, and development.