Estrogenic followed by anti-estrogenic effects of PCBs exposure in juvenil fish (Spaurus aurata)

Vitellogenin (Vtg) is a phospho-lipo-glycoprotein produced by oviparous animals in response to estrogen receptor (ER) binding. The presence of Vtg in juvenile and male fish liver and plasma has been used as biomarker to evaluate levels of environmental contaminants as dioxin and PCBs. Interaction of dioxins and PCBs with aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) may affect reproduction by recruitment of estrogen receptor α (ERα). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PCB-126, a co-planar PCB prototypical AhR agonist, and of PCB-153, a non-coplanar PCB lacking dioxine-like activity, on Vtg expression in young fish (Spaurus aurata) after a 12 or 24 h exposure to PCBs as well as 48 h following PCBs removal. Vtg expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and by Western-blot analysis. Our results showed an increased Vtg expression following PCBs administration, with a maximum level after 12 h of exposure to either PCB-126, PCB-153 or a mixture of both PCBs. Following this estrogenic activity, an anti-estrogenic activity was detected after 24 h of incubation with PCB-126 (alone or mixed with PCB-153), suggested by a decrease in Vtg expression likely through AhR, as a consequence of a hypothetic defence mechanism to endogenous or exogenous ligands.