Pharmaceutical Society of Japan

Vitellogenin (VTG) is believed to be an effective and sensitive biomarker to detect the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on fish. An enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed in this study for the quantification of VTG in goldfish (Carassius auratus) blood plasma using a monoclonal antibody against carp lipovitellin which is known to cross-react with goldfish VTG, and a working range of 7.8 to 500 ng VTG/ml was established. A laboratory study involving the dosing of male goldfish for 28 days with a range of bisphenol-A (BPA) concentrations was conducted, and the established ELISA was used. There was no significant induction of VTG at the concentrations of 1 and 10 μg/l. Exposure to 100 μg/l and 1000 μg/l BPA for 28 days significantly elevated plasma VTG concentrations to 201 ± 90 μg/ml and 104552 ± 24920 μg/ml, respectively. To confirm the effect of temperature on VTG induction, male goldfish were exposed to the nominal concentration of 17β-es-tradiol (E2) 100 μg/l at 10° and 30°C for 10 days. Plasma VTG concentration in male goldfish increased more quickly in the fish exposed at 30°C than in those at 10°C. In addition, the plasma VTG concentration in the 30°C group (10463 ± 3268 μg/ml) was higher than that of the 10°C group (1.42 ± 1.6 μg/ml) after 1 day of exposure. Thus goldfish are useful for the investigation of EDCs under various conditions since they are relatively small in size, and the ELISA established in the present study will contribute to various types of research.