Analysis of Estrogenic Activity in Maryland Coastal Bays Using the MCF-7 Cell Proliferation Assay.

Rehab Elfadul,Ali Ishaque,Ahmed Elnabawi,Roman Jesien,Paulinus Chigbu

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126254

Abstract

Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with estrogenic or estrogenic-like activity have been increasingly detected in aquatic environments and have been an issue of global concern due to their potential negative effects on wildlife and human health. This study used the MCF-7 cell proliferation assay (E-Screen) to assess the estrogenic activity profiles in Maryland Coastal Bays (MCBs), a eutrophic system of estuaries impacted by human activities. Estrogenic activity was observed in all study sites tested. Water samples from MCBs increased MCF-7 cell proliferation above the negative control from 2.1-fold at site 8, located in Sinepuxent Bay close to the Ocean City Inlet, to 6.3-fold at site 6, located in Newport Bay. The proliferative effects of the sediment samples over the negative control ranged from 1.9-fold at the Assateague Island National Seashore site to 7.7-fold at the Public Landing site. Moreover, elevated cell proliferation (p < 0.05) was observed when cells were co-exposed with 17ß-Estradiol (E2), while reduction in cell proliferation was observed when cells were co-exposed with the antagonist ICI 182, 780 suggesting that cell proliferative effects were primarily mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER). These results suggest the occurrence of some estrogenic or hormonal-like compounds in the MCBs and are consistent with our previous findings based on vitellogenin analyses.

Highlights

The estrogenic responses of MCF7-cells to the three chemicals are shown in Figure 2. 17ß-Estradiol induced the proliferation of the MCF7 cells by 4.7-fold, while Acetaminophen and Triclosan induced the proliferation of the cells to 2-fold compared to the negative control
CECs with estrogenic or estrogenic-like activity have been increasingly detected in aquatic environments and have been an issue of global concern due to their potential negative effects on wildlife and human health
Elevated cell proliferation (p < 0.05) was observed when cells were co-exposed with 17ß-Estradiol (E2) while reduction in cell proliferation was observed when cells were co-exposed with the antagonist ICI 182, 780, suggesting that cell proliferative effects were primarily mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER)

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), including estrogenic or estrogenic like compounds, have been an issue of global concern due to their potential negative effects on wildlife and human health [1,2]. Examples of classes of CECs are Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), natural and synthetic hormones, and flame-retardants. Studies have shown the occurrence of these contaminants in environmental matrices such as water, sediment, and fish tissues in rivers, coastal waters, ground water, municipal wastewater, as well as drinking water [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]

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