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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Experimental Endocrinology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1491432
This article is part of the Research Topic Endocrine Disruption in Marine Species: Unraveling Pollution and Climate Change Effects View all 3 articles

Transcriptome analysis reveals effects of ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A on multiple endocrine and metabolic pathways in the pituitary and liver of female Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

Provisionally accepted
Fekadu Yadetie Fekadu Yadetie 1*Xiaokang Zhang Xiaokang Zhang 2Anna Reboa Anna Reboa 1Gwenaëlle Samantha Chloe Noally Gwenaëlle Samantha Chloe Noally 1Mariann Eilertsen Mariann Eilertsen 1Mitchell Fleming Mitchell Fleming 1Jon Vidar Helvik Jon Vidar Helvik 1Inge Jonassen Inge Jonassen 2Anders Goksøyr Anders Goksøyr 1Odd André Karlsen Odd André Karlsen 1
  • 1 Department of Biological Sciences , University of Bergen, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
  • 2 Department of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The pituitary and liver are among the main sites of action of estrogens in fish. Years of research has shown that xenoestrogens can interfere with functions of estrogens. There is however incomplete understanding of xenoestrogen targets genes, their molecular mechanisms and potential effects in some of the target organs, particularly the pituitary. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of pituitary and liver transcriptome 72 h after injection of ethynylestradiol (EE2: 10, 50 or 250 nmol/kg body weight/bw) and bisphenol A (BPA: 8, 40 or 200 mol/kg bw) in juvenile female Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Our results show a broad range of reproductive and metabolic pathways were affected in both organs by BPA and EE2. In the pituitary, effects on the expression of many genes associated with reproduction-related hormonal pathways including the gonadotropin system, as well as genes in processes such as cell differentiation and metabolic homeostasis were observed. In the liver, in addition to upregulation of well-known estrogen marker genes, effects on metabolic pathways, in particular, a coordinated downregulation of genes in the triglyceride synthesis pathways were observed. These results suggest that estrogenic compounds affect a broad range of reproductive and metabolic processes in the pituitary. The alterations in the liver unravel the transcriptional changes underlying metabolic remodeling during estrogen induced vitellogenesis. This study provides new insights into mechanisms of endocrine and metabolic interactions that can be potential targets of environmental estrogens in fish. The study also identifies potential gene expression biomarkers for pituitary and liver effects of xenoestrogens.

    Keywords: Endocrine Disruptors, energy homeostasis, fish reproduction, Lipid homeostasis, Gonadotropins

    Received: 04 Sep 2024; Accepted: 20 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yadetie, Zhang, Reboa, Noally, Eilertsen, Fleming, Helvik, Jonassen, Goksøyr and Karlsen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Fekadu Yadetie, Department of Biological Sciences , University of Bergen, Bergen, 5006, Hordaland, Norway

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