Steroid levels in crinoid echinoderms are altered by exposure to model endocrine disruptors

• Published in: Steroids 2006-06, Vol.71 (6), p.489-497
• Main Authors: Lavado, Ramón, Barbaglio, Alice, Carnevali, M. Daniela Candia, Porte, Cinta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 17β-Estradiol; Androgen Antagonists - pharmacology; Androgenic; Animals; Antedon mediterranea; Anti-androgenic; Biological and medical sciences; Cyproterone Acetate - pharmacology; Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene - pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Echinodermata - metabolism; Endocrine disruption; Endocrine Disruptors - pharmacology; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Estradiol - analysis; Estradiol - metabolism; Estradiol - pharmacology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Methyltestosterone - pharmacology; Organotin Compounds - pharmacology; Pyrimidines - pharmacology; Steroids - analysis; Steroids - metabolism; Testosterone; Testosterone - analysis; Testosterone - metabolism; Time Factors; Vertebrates: endocrinology
• ISSN: 0039-128X; 1878-5867
• DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2006.01.009

Sexual steroids (testosterone and estradiol) were measured in the whole body of wild specimens of the crinoid Antedon mediterranea collected from the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). Testosterone levels (274–1488 pg/g wet weight (w.w.)) were higher than those of estradiol (60–442 pg/g w.w.) and no significant differences between males and females were observed. No clear seasonal trend was either detected – individuals from February, June and October 2004 analyzed – apart from a peak of estradiol in males in autumn. Nonetheless, dramatic changes on tissue steroid levels were observed when individuals were exposed to model androgenic and anti-androgenic compounds for 2 and 4 weeks. The selected compounds were 17α-methyltestosterone (17α-MT), triphenyltin (TPT), fenarimol (FEN), cyproterone acetate (CPA), and p, p′-DDE. Endogenous testosterone levels were significantly increased after exposure to 17α-MT, TPT and FEN, while different responses were observed for estradiol; 17α-MT and FEN increased endogenous estradiol (up to seven-fold), and TPT lead to a significant decrease. Concerning the anti-androgenic compounds, CPA significantly reduced testosterone in a dose-dependent manner without altering estradiol levels, whereas specimens exposed to p, p′-DDE at a low dose (24 ng/L) for 4 weeks showed a four-fold increase in T levels. Overall, the data show the ability of the selected compounds to alter endogenous steroid concentrations in A. mediterranea, and suggest the existence in this echinoderm species of vertebrate-like mechanisms that can be affected by exposure to androgenic and anti-androgenic chemicals.