Vitellogenin induction and reduced serum testosterone concentrations in feral male carp (Cyprinus carpio) captured near a major metropolitan sewage treatment plant.

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting chemicals can potentially alter the reproductive physiology of fishes. To test this hypothesis, serum was collected from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) at five riverine locations in Minnesota. Male fish collected from an effluent channel below the St. Paul metropolitan sewage treatment plant had significantly elevated serum egg protein (vitellogenin) concentrations and significantly decreased serum testosterone concentrations compared to male carp collected from the St. Croix River, classified as a National Wild and Scenic River. Carp collected from the Minnesota River, which receives significant agricultural runoff, also exhibited depressed serum testosterone concentrations, but no serum vitellogenin was apparent. These data suggest that North American rivers are receiving estrogenic chemicals that are biologically active, as has been reported in Great Britain.ImagesFigure 1.Figure 2. AFigure 2. B

Polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, and potential endocrine disruption in fish from the Hudson River, New York, USA

“…Low concentrations of VTG are possible in female fish at different maturation stages, however, detectable levels of VTG in plasma of male fish indicate their endocrine system could be disturbed (Folmar et al, 1996). Vitellogenin is a precursor protein that contributes to egg development in female ovaries, and is synthesized by the liver in response to elevated plasma concentrations of the sex steroid, 17b-estradiol, or in response to other estrogenic compounds or mimics.…”

Anoxic Androgen Degradation by the Denitrifying Bacterium Sterolibacterium denitrificans via the 2,3-seco Pathway

“…Due to their hydrophobicity and strong adsorption to sediments, they are poorly soluble in water and have only limited bioavailability in natural environments (6). Conventionally, estrogens have attracted considerable attention due to their structural stability, persistence in the environment, and extremely strong endocrine-disrupting activity (1,5,(7)(8)(9). Recent studies also documented masculinization of freshwater wildlife exposed to androgens in polluted rivers (10,11).…”

Mass spectrometry applied to the analysis of estrogens in the environment

“…5 These hormones have been implicated in endocrine disruption and alterations in gonadal development observed in fish populations downstream of sewage treatment plants. [6][7][8] In laboratory studies with a model fish species, Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). male fish were exposed for a period, just after hatch to 3 months of age, to nanogram/liter concentrations of each of the natural estrogen, 17b-estradiol, the synthetic estrogen, 17a-ethynylestradiol, and the metabolites of the aforementioned estrogens, estriol and estrone.…”