Steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein and cholesterol side-chain cleavage (P450scc) as molecular and cellular targets for 17alpha-ethynylestradiol in salmon previtellogenic oocytes.

Gonadal steroids are known to modulate both the synthesis and the release of gonadotropins by the pituitary and influence several brain functions that are apparently responsible for gender-specific differences in the regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. It is believed that the true rate-limiting step in acute steroid production is the movement of cholesterol across the mitochondrial membrane by the steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein and subsequent conversion to pregnenolone by P450-mediated cholesterol side chain cleavage (P450 scc). In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of 17alpha-ethynylestradiol (EE2) on salmon previtellogenic oocytes using an in vitro culture system and molecular, histological, and physiological methods. The in vitro culture technique was based on an agarose floating method recently validated for xenoestrogens in our laboratory. Tissue was cultured in a humidified incubator at 10 degrees C for 3, 7, and 14 days with different concentrations of EE2 [0 (control), 0.01, 0.1, and 1 microM] dissolved in ethanol (0.1%). The StAR, P450 scc, P450 arom isoforms, and insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) mRNA expressions were performed using validated real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers, and immunohistochemistry of the StAR and P450 scc proteins was performed using antisera prepared against synthetic peptide for both proteins and estradiol-17beta (E2); testosterone (T) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) tissue levels were performed using enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Our data show that EE2 produced time- and concentration-specific effects on the StAR protein, P450 scc, P450 arom isoforms, and IGF-2 gene expressions in salmon gonadal tissues. Cellular expression of the StAR and P450 scc proteins was mainly demonstrated in follicular cells of the oocyte membrane, showing time- and EE2 concentration-dependent differences in staining intensities. Tissue levels of E2, T, and 11-KT in salmon were differentially modulated by EE2 in a time- and concentration-specific manner. Although an apparent negative relationship between E2 and T that reflected aromatization of T to E2 was observed at day 3 postexposure, T and 11-KT showed an apparent concentration-dependent effect after EE2 exposure at day 14. The consistencies between our data at day 14 postexposure suggest that the EE2 modulates steroidogenesis by targeting the initial and rate-limiting step that involves the StAR protein. In general, these findings show that the synthetic pharmaceutical endocrine disruptor and ubiquitous environmental pollutant also produce variations in key gonadal steroidogenic and growth-regulating pathways. These effects and the hormonal imbalance reported in the present study may have potential consequences for the vitellogenic process and overt fecundity in teleosts.