Induction and recovery of estrogenic effects after short-term 17ß-estradiol exposure in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Estrogenic compounds found in the aquatic environment include natural and synthetic estrogen hormones as well as other less potent estrogenic xenobiotics. In this study, a comprehensive approach was used to examine effects on fish endocrine system endpoints during a short-term xenoestrogen exposure as well as after post-exposure recovery. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to an aqueous 17ß-estradiol (E2) concentration of 0.473 µg l(-1) for 2 and 7 days (d) followed by a 14-d recovery period. At d2 and d7, plasma E2 concentrations in treated fish were 458- and 205-fold higher than in control fish and 23- and 16-fold higher than the exposure water concentration. E2 treatment resulted in significant increases in hepatosomatic index (HSI), plasma vitellogenin (VTG) protein concentrations, and liver VTG and estrogen receptor alpha mRNA levels. All of these parameters, with the exception of plasma VTG protein, returned to baseline values during the recovery period. Plasma cortisol concentrations were unaffected by treatment. This research shows varied time frames of the estrogen-responsive molecular-, biochemical-, and tissue-level alterations, as well as their persistence, in juvenile rainbow trout treated with aqueous E2. These results have implications for feral rainbow trout exposed to xenoestrogens and indicate the importance of evaluating a comprehensive suite of endpoints in assessing the impact of this type of environmental contaminant.

Concentration-response relationships and temporal patterns in hepatic gene expression of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) exposed to sewage.

Changes in liver gene expression were examined in juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) exposed in vivo for 8d to seawater (control) or one of 5 concentrations of sewage (environmentally-relevant dilutions of 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.7%; 2%, 5% or 10%) and subsequently transferred to clean seawater for an 8-d recovery period. Livers were sampled on days 1, 4, 8 (sewage-exposed) and 16 (8d of sewage exposure plus 8d of recovery). A custom cDNA microarray using a universal DNA reference design was used to examine trends of altered gene expression across sewage concentrations, across timepoints, and at the end of the recovery period. Alterations in gene expression followed four distinct concentration-dependent patterns: (1) concentration response (e.g. estrogen receptor alpha), (2) inverse-concentration response (e.g. insulin receptor beta), U-shaped (e.g. mineralocorticoid receptor), (3) inverse U-shaped (e.g. benzodiazepine receptor), and (4) concentration-independent responses (e.g. ubiquitin). Temporal trends included: (1) peak gene expression at one of the sewage exposure timepoints with recovery to baseline levels after the depuration phase (e.g. vitelline envelope protein beta), (2) gene expression alterations that did not recover (e.g. glucose transporter 3), and (3) delayed gene expression alterations initiated only at the recovery timepoint (e.g. insulin-like growth factor 2). In summary, patterns in gene expression changes were found across sewage concentrations and exposure timepoints. This study is the first to show gene expression trends of this nature.