Zaccaroni Annalisa, Zucchini Marina, Segatta Lorenzo, Gamberoni Matteo, Freggi Daniela, Accorsi Pier A, Scaravelli Dino, Gardner Susan C
Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Pathology, Pharmacology and Toxicology Section, Research Group on Large Pelagic Vertebrates, Veterinary Medicine School, University of Bologna, FC, Italy.
Physiol Biochem Zool. 2010 Jan-Feb;83(1):191-5. doi: 10.1086/648486.
Vitellogenin (VTG) is considered as a marker of endocrine disruption. A Western blot method for VTG quantification in Caretta caretta turtle plasma was developed using anti-VTG antibody for Chelonia mydas. A screening of samples (n = 61) collected in the southern Mediterranean Sea around Lampedusa Island, Italy, was performed. The antibody showed a good cross-reactivity with C. caretta VTG, suggesting a certain conservation of the core of the protein in different sea turtle species. The optimal operative condition for Western blot analysis consists of using diluted plasma at 1:50. In field samples, a certain mismatch with morphological sexing was observed, and VTG was detected in young animals. These results suggest the possibility of a precocious activation of VTG-encoding genes before sexual maturation and/or exposure to endocrine disrupter substances.
卵黄蛋白原（VTG）被视为内分泌干扰的标志物。利用针对绿海龟的抗VTG抗体，开发了一种用于测定蠵龟血浆中VTG含量的蛋白质印迹法。对在意大利兰佩杜萨岛附近地中海海域采集的样本（n = 61）进行了筛查。该抗体与蠵龟VTG表现出良好的交叉反应性，表明该蛋白质核心在不同海龟物种中具有一定的保守性。蛋白质印迹分析的最佳操作条件是使用1:50稀释的血浆。在野外样本中，观察到与形态学性别鉴定存在一定的不匹配情况，并且在幼体动物中检测到了VTG。这些结果表明，在性成熟前和/或接触内分泌干扰物质之前，VTG编码基因可能会过早激活。
