Assessment of Endocrine Disruption Potential of Selected Pharmaceuticals Using an In-vitro Assay

Abstract

Contamination of water bodies by pharmaceuticals has recently received much attention. Even at low concentration, pharmaceuticals can disrupt the natural hormonal responses (endocrine disruptors) leading to a multitude of toxicological effects in aquatic life. In the current study, the estrogenic effect of selected pharmaceuticals was evaluated using the E-Screen assay, which quantifies the cell proliferation of estrogen responsive MCF-7 breast cancer cells with respect to 17β- estradiol. In this assay, 17-α ethinylestradiol and acetaminophen were found to yield a strong and weak estrogenic response, respectively, while diclofenac and carbamazepine caused antagonistic effect. Validity of the in- vitro assay was confirmed when these pharmaceuticals did not generate any response in the estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231. Based on the level of residual pharmaceuticals reported in wastewater effluents in Mumbai, the results of this study indicate that estrogenic effects may be expected in wastewater effluent