Effects of 17α-ethinylestradiol and bisphenol A on steroidogenic messenger ribonucleic acid levels in the rare minnow gonads

Previous studies showed that the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) affect reproductive physiology in teleosts. How the EDCs regulate gonadal steroidogenesis remains to be determined. The gonadal transcript changes of steroidogenic enzyme genes in adult rare minnow Gobiocypris rarus exposed to 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) and bisphenol A (BPA) were detected in the present study. The full-length cDNAs encoding steroidogenic enzymes, including steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450-mediated side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1), 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD), and cytochrome P450 17 A1 (CYP17A1) were isolated and characterized by RT-PCR and RACE methods. The homology and phylogenetic analyses of the amino acid sequences confirmed that the nucleotide sequences of these steroidogenic genes were correct. The mRNA tissue distribution results indicated that StAR, cyp11a1, and cyp17a1 mRNAs were mainly expressed in the gonads and 3β-HSD was mainly expressed in both the gonads and the brains. The 233 dpf adult G. rarus were exposed to EE2 (25 ng/L) and BPA (5, 15, and 50 μg/L) dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or control for 7 days. The gonadal mRNA levels of StAR, cyp11a1, 3β-HSD, cyp17a1 and ovarian cytochrome P450 aromatase (cyp19a1a) were quantified by qRT-PCR. Our data indicated that 25 ng/L EE2 had different degrees of inhibitory effects on the expression of steroidogenic genes in the gonads. BPA at different levels caused concentration-specific effects on the mRNA expression of the steroidogenic genes. The transcripts of several ovarian steroidogenic genes were more sensitive to 15 μg/L BPA than that at other two levels. These findings suggest that EE2 could impair gonadal steroidogenesis by suppressing mRNA expression of steroidogenic genes and BPA could cause variations in gonadal steroidogenesis modulation with a potential consequence of compensation for the disturbance.

► The transcripts of steroidogenic genes were analyzed in adult rare minnow exposed to EE2 and BPA.
► We isolated and characterized the cDNAs encoding StAR, CYP11A1, 3β-HSD, and CYP17A1.
► EE2 exposure suppressed mRNA expression of testicular and ovarian steroidogenic genes.
► BPA at environment-related levels produced variations in gonadal steroidogenesis modulation.