VITELLOGENIN INDUCTION IN IMMATURE Caiman latirostris FEMALES IN RESPONSE TO EARLY POSTNATAL EXPOSURE TO BISPHENOL A

GALOPPO GH; RAMOS J G; STOKER C; CANESINI G; DURANDO M; OSTI M; LUQUE E H; MUÑOZ-DE-TORO M

Buenos Aires

Congreso; PRIMER ENCUENTRO RIOPLATENSE DE BIOLOGIA - XIV JORNADAS ANUALES DE LA SOCIEDAD ARGENTINA DE BIOLOGÍA; 2012

Caiman latirostris is an oviparous species widely distributed in South American aquatic ecosystems. Vitellogenin (Vtg) is a hepatic yolk precursor protein synthesized in response to estrogen. Vtg induction in males and immature females has been proposed as biomarker of exposure to environmental estrogens. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a xenoestrogen found in food, freshwater and sediments. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of early postnatal exposure to low doses of BPA on caiman vitellogenesis. Two injections (s.c), 7 days apart from each other, of E2 (1.4 and 0.014 ppm), BPA (140 and 1.4 ppm) or vehicle were administered to one month old female caimans. Liver and plasma samples were obtained 7 days after the last injection. Hepatic Vtg mRNA and protein were assessed by qPCR and IHC, respectively. Vtg plasma levels were measured by ELISA. In caimans treated with E2 1.4 ppm increased Vtg mRNA, hepatic Vtg granules, and Vtg plasma levels were detected. Circulating Vtg was also detected in females exposed to the low dose of BPA. Plasma Vtg detection in immature caiman females might become a useful non-invasive tool to monitor environmental estrogen exposure