Effect of low dose exposure to the herbicide atrazine and its metabolite on cytochrome P450 aromatase and steroidogenic factor-1 mRNA levels in the brain of premetamorphic bullfrog tadpoles (Rana catesbeiana)

The transcriptional regulator steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) and the enzyme cytochrome P450 aromatase (CYP19) play a central role in modulation of a broad range of tissue-specific developmental processes associated with hormone homeostasis that includes differentiation of the central nervous system. SF-1 and CYP19 expression may be targeted by a variety of endocrine disruptive agents prevalent within the environment. In the present study, we cloned and characterized partial sequences for bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) SF-1 and CYP19 and examined the effects of a 48 h exposure to 1 and 100 μg/l of the herbicide atrazine (ATZ) and its major metabolite desethylatrazine (DEA), as well as 5 ng/l of the estrogenic chemical, 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), and 673 ng/l of the thyroid hormone, 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3), on SF-1 and CYP19 mRNA abundance in the brains of premetamorphic bullfrog tadpoles. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed an increase in CYP19 mRNA following a 48 h exposure to EE2 but not T3 while no significant changes in SF-1 transcript levels occurred. We observed a strong positive correlation between CYP19 and SF-1 transcript abundance in the ATZ-exposed animals which was not evident with DEA- or hormone-exposed tadpoles. Our results are intriguing in light of reported behavioral changes in ATZ-exposed frogs and suggest that further research is warranted to examine the relationship and role of CYP19 and SF-1 in amphibian brain development.