Estrogen-like Effects in Male Goldfish Co-exposed to Fluoxetine and 17 Alpha-Ethinylestradiol

摘要

The antidepressant fluoxetine (FLX) and the syntheticrnestrogen, 17 alpha-ethinyiestradiol (EE2), are present in municipal sewagerndischarges. To better understand possible interactions between them, malerngoldfish were exposed to an ethanol control or to nominal concentrations ofrnFLX (0.54 μg/L) and EE2 (5 ng/L) alone and in combination for 14 days.rnReal-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to assessrneffects on hepatic gene expression and liquid chromatography tandem massrnspectrometry to analyze the plasma proteome. The results showed an increasernin estrogen receptor alpha (esr1) and vitellogenin (vtg) gene expression byrn1.9-14-fold in die FLX and EE2 groups, but this did not reach statisticalrnsignificance. in wntrast, co-exposure up regulated esrl and vtg gene expressionrnby 5-5- and 5.3-fold, respectively. Fluoxetine and EE2 alone did not affectrnestrogen receptor beta (esr2), but the co-exposure down regulated esr2rnexpression by 50%. There was a significant increase in the number of plasma proteins that were related to endocrine systemrndisorders in the FLX and FLX plus EE2 groups. The level of VTG protein was increased in the plasma from goldfish exposed tornEE2, FLX, and FLX plus EE2. Our study demonstrates that low concentrations of FLX and EE2 in a simple mixture producernstrong estrogen-like effects in the male goldfish.