Sex-Specific Differences of Steroid Receptors Following Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Phenothiazine in Fundulus heteroclitus.

This study sought to identify sex specific hormone receptor changes in Fundulus heteroclitus in response to PTZ exposure. Fundulus heteroclitus, also known as mummichog, are small fish native to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. They reside in brackish waters and can survive harsh toxic environments. This model organism is native to the polluted waters found in Connecticut. In this study, fish were exposed to PTZ concentrations of 0.5 ppm, 1.0 ppm, and 2.0 ppm for 1 week. Following exposure, brain, liver, and gonad tissues were harvested; cDNA was synthesized; and mRNA expression was assessed for 6 different hormone receptors. Compared with vehicle control (ethanol) differences in mRNA expression, levels of hormone receptors were observed in various tissues from male and female fish. Many of the tissues assessed showed changes in expression level, while only female liver and testis showed no change. These results implicate PTZ as a potential endocrine disrupting compound to mummichog at environmentally relevant concentrations. PMID: 32666217 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Arch Environ Contam Toxicol Source Type: research