Sex reversal effects on Caiman latirostris exposed to environmentally relevant doses of the xenoestrogen bisphenol A.

Exposure to environmental contaminants known as endocrine disruptors (EDs) alters the development and function of reproductive organs in several species. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an estrogenic chemical that leaches from dental materials and plastic food and beverage containers. BPA has been found in sewage, surface and drinking water, and therefore poses a potentially significant risk for human and wildlife. Prenatal exposure of rodents to environmentally relevant doses of BPA alters the development of the reproductive organs of male and female offspring. Species with temperature dependent sex determination (TSD) could act as sentinels of ecosystem health by providing sensitive biomarkers of endocrine disruptor's effects. We selected Caiman latirostris as an animal model to study endocrine disruption caused by BPA. The aim of this study was to determine whether exposure in ovum to BPA could cause estrogen-like effects on the reproductive system of C. latirostris. Sex determination and gonadal histoarchitecture were the endpoints evaluated after in ovum exposure to different doses of BPA and 17beta-estradiol (E(2)). We confirmed that C. latirostris is a species with TSD and additionally demonstrated that BPA causes estrogen-like developmental effects by reversing gonadal sex and altering gonadal histoarchitecture. Differences in responses to BPA and E(2) in our in vivo system were on the order of 100-fold. In contrast published in vitro studies have reported differences on the order of 10,000x or more. These results support the utility of C. latirostris, a species in which sex determination is temperature dependent, as a tool in assessing estrogenic activity in vivo and as a sentinel to monitor EDs in aquatic environment.