Assessing the anti-estrogenic activity of sodium pentachlorophenol
in primary cultures of juvenile goldfish (Carassius auratus) hepatocytes using
vitellogenin as a biomarker
Affiliations: China Research Academy of Environmental Sciences,
Beijing 100012, China | Department of Environmental Science and Technology,
East China Normal University, Shanghai 200061, China
Abstract: Both pentachlorophenol and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
(TCDD) had been studied widely because of their probable anti-estrogenic
activity. Sodium pentachlorophenol (PCP-Na), as a industrial product used in
many fields, usually contains a trace of TCDD. The aim of this study was to
assess the anti-estrogenic effect of PCP-Na in juvenile goldfish (Carassius
auratus) hepatocyte cultures using vitellogenin (VTG) as the biomarker. The
ID_{50} of PCP-Na was investigated and then a series of
concentrations (0.001–0.5μg/ml) of PCP-Na were evaluated to estimate
the anti-estrogenic activity. Results showed that PCP-Na was cytotoxic for
hepatocytes even at very low concentration <1.21μg/ml, and it could not
induce VTG at any concentrations tested. Since it failed to stimulate VTG
production, the possibility of its anti-estrogenic effect was tested, and a
well-known anti-estrogenic compound-tamoxifen was used as positive control.
PCP-Na caused a reduction in VTG synthesis in juvenile goldfish (Carassius
auratus) hepatocytes at concentrations >0.1μg/ml when co-exposure with
1μg/ml 17β-estradiol (E2), making its anti-estrogenic activity
approximately as potent as tamoxifen. Our results indicate that PCP-Na can act
as negative modulators of estrogenic function in juvenile goldfish (Carassius
auratus) hepatocytes.
