18 research outputs found
Effect of anticalmodulin drugs on testosterone synthesis in hCG stimulated mouse Leydig cells
New implications in the use of imposex as a suitable tool for Tributyltin contamination: experimental induction in Hexaplex trunculus (Gastropoda, Muricidae) with different stressors
Imposex, i.e. the development of additional
male sex organs (penis and/or vas deferens), in
females of gonochorist marine and freshwater gastropods,
is known to be caused by tributyltin (TBT), and
it has been widely used as a biomonitoring tool in
environmental surveys for TBT pollution assessment.
In this study, we experimentally tested the potential to
induce imposex by another endocrine disruptor
(polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] mixture—Aroclor
1260). Adults of Hexaplex trunculus with low
imposex level, coming from an Italian Marine Protected
Area, were injected separately with different
doses of tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) and Aroclor
1260. The compounds were dissolved in ethanol and
the organisms were narcotised by immersion in
MgCl2 solution before injection. Before and after the
experiment, butyltin compounds (BuTs) and PCB
tissue concentrations were determined. A significant
increase in imposex with respect to non-treated
organisms was observed in all treatments, including
artefact controls. No clear correlation was observed between BuTs and PCB tissue concentrations and indices of imposex incidence. Based on these results, no assumption can be formulated about PCB effect on
imposex development. Nevertheless, they suggest that the imposex level increase, at least in H. trunculus, in laboratory conditions might not be caused by TBT only, but it would rather be a non-specific response to different stress stimuli