No description available.

Estrogens maintain the appropriate androgen-estrogen balance for normal regulation of the structure and function of the male reproductive tract, including the prostate gland. This research investigated viability of cells and expression of selected genes in prostate carcinoma cells (PC-3) exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen-like substance present in a number of plastic materials. PC-3 cells are able to metabolize BPA at concentrations below 100 µM. BPA exposure at concentrations between 1nM and 100 µM does not increase or significantly reduce cell viability of these cells. Although the genes investigated in this study (GSTP1 and MGMT) did not show a significant change in expression following in vitro exposure to BPA, the positive control ethinyl estradiol (EE2) caused an increase in GSTP1 expression at mRNA level. These results indicate that BPA does not affect the viability of prostate cells, and motivate a need for further research to identify other genes that could be affected by BPA.

Estrogens maintain the appropriate androgen-estrogen balance for normal regulation of the structure and function of the male reproductive tract, including the prostate gland. This research investigated viability of cells and expression of selected genes in prostate carcinoma cells (PC-3) exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen-like substance present in a number of plastic materials. PC-3 cells are able to metabolize BPA at concentrations below 100 µM. BPA exposure at concentrations between 1nM and 100 µM does not increase or significantly reduce cell viability of these cells. Although the genes investigated in this study (GSTP1 and MGMT) did not show a significant change in expression following in vitro exposure to BPA, the positive control ethinyl estradiol (EE2) caused an increase in GSTP1 expression at mRNA level. These results indicate that BPA does not affect the viability of prostate cells, and motivate a need for further research to identify other genes that could be affected by BPA.

Estrogens maintain the appropriate androgen-estrogen balance for normal regulation of the structure and function of the male reproductive tract, including the prostate gland. This research investigated viability of cells and expression of selected genes in prostate carcinoma cells (PC-3) exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen-like substance present in a number of plastic materials. PC-3 cells are able to metabolize BPA at concentrations below 100 µM. BPA exposure at concentrations between 1nM and 100 µM does not increase or significantly reduce cell viability of these cells. Although the genes investigated in this study (GSTP1 and MGMT) did not show a significant change in expression following in vitro exposure to BPA, the positive control ethinyl estradiol (EE2) caused an increase in GSTP1 expression at mRNA level. These results indicate that BPA does not affect the viability of prostate cells, and motivate a need for further research to identify other genes that could be affected by BPA.

Parabens are the esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and are commonly used as preservatives in personal care products, pharmaceutical preparations and cosmetics. Recently parabens have been found to be estrogenic, bringing into question if exposure to them is adversely affecting human health. Given exposure to multiple xenoestrogens is constant; research has been carried out to determine what effect combinations of xenoestrogens might have on human and environmental health. Parabens are almost always present in combinations in formulae as this increases their antimicrobial activity, so it is important to know what the effect of this is. The main aim of this study was to determine what the effect of combining methylparaben and butylparaben together has on the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells, which proliferate in the presence of estrogen. This study was carried out by exposing MCF-7 breast cancer cells to combinations of methylparaben and butylparaben and measuring cell proliferation by counting cells using a cytometer. The results show that butylparaben caused a greater increase in cell proliferation compared to methylparaben. When methylparaben and butylparaben were combined together, the resulting cell proliferation was greater than the cell proliferation produced by either methylparaben or butylparaben alone at a concentration twice the amount of either paraben concentration contained within the mixture. These results were analysed using Analysis of Variance, which determined the combination treatments were statistically different from the single treatments according to Fishers method. This suggests that there is a synergistic effect produced when methylparaben and butylparaben are combined together, however large variation and dose dependent discrepancies means this result is uncertain and further studies need to be carried out.

There has been an increase in reports of male reproductive disorders that include male infertility and testicular cancer worldwide. It has been suggested that agents such as xenoestrogens could be responsible. Xenoestrogens are chemical compounds that mimic the action of estrogens by binding to the estrogen receptors (ERs). The response ofa testicular cell line to estrogenic pesticides was examined. The effect of estrogenic pesticides on the growth and protein levels of ERα and ERβ of mouse Sertoli cells was investigated. Pyrethroids are widely used insecticides due to their insecticidal potency and low mammalian toxicity. In this study, the estrogenicity ofpyrethroid chemicals were tested using the yeast estrogen screen (YES) assay. The toxic effects of the pyrethroid compounds cypermethrin, 3-(4-hydroxy-phenoxy)benzyl alcohol (metabolite of permethrin), and the commercial product (Ripcord Plus) were evaluated. The Sertoli cells were exposed to pyrethroids at concentrations of 0.36 nM and 36 µM (cypermethrin and Ripcord Plus), and 0.69 nM and 69 µM (metabolite) for 100 h. The expression of the ERs was analysed through the use of Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) experiments. The most toxic pyrethroid was the metabolite, followed by Ripcord Plus then cypermethrin. Overall the exposure of the cells to cypermethrin (36 µM), Ripcord Plus (36 µM) and the metabolite (69 µM) caused a significant decrease (p<0.05) in ERα levels. In the cultures exposed to the metabolite (69 µM), there was also a significant increase in ERβ levels. There appears to be a relation between cell toxicity and an increase in ERβ levels, which supports the theory that ERβ promotes apoptosis. Pyrethroids are rapidly excreted from the body, and it is unknown if there is accumulation in the male testes. Male fertility could be affected through molecular mechanisms involving the ERs, should cells in the male testes be exposed to these pyrethroids at physiologically relevant concentrations.

There has been an increase in reports of male reproductive disorders that include male infertility and testicular cancer worldwide. It has been suggested that agents such as xenoestrogens could be responsible. Xenoestrogens are chemical compounds that mimic the action of estrogens by binding to the estrogen receptors (ERs). The response ofa testicular cell line to estrogenic pesticides was examined. The effect of estrogenic pesticides on the growth and protein levels of ERα and ERβ of mouse Sertoli cells was investigated. Pyrethroids are widely used insecticides due to their insecticidal potency and low mammalian toxicity. In this study, the estrogenicity ofpyrethroid chemicals were tested using the yeast estrogen screen (YES) assay. The toxic effects of the pyrethroid compounds cypermethrin, 3-(4-hydroxy-phenoxy)benzyl alcohol (metabolite of permethrin), and the commercial product (Ripcord Plus) were evaluated. The Sertoli cells were exposed to pyrethroids at concentrations of 0.36 nM and 36 µM (cypermethrin and Ripcord Plus), and 0.69 nM and 69 µM (metabolite) for 100 h. The expression of the ERs was analysed through the use of Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) experiments. The most toxic pyrethroid was the metabolite, followed by Ripcord Plus then cypermethrin. Overall the exposure of the cells to cypermethrin (36 µM), Ripcord Plus (36 µM) and the metabolite (69 µM) caused a significant decrease (p<0.05) in ERα levels. In the cultures exposed to the metabolite (69 µM), there was also a significant increase in ERβ levels. There appears to be a relation between cell toxicity and an increase in ERβ levels, which supports the theory that ERβ promotes apoptosis. Pyrethroids are rapidly excreted from the body, and it is unknown if there is accumulation in the male testes. Male fertility could be affected through molecular mechanisms involving the ERs, should cells in the male testes be exposed to these pyrethroids at physiologically relevant concentrations.

Dynamic isomerization of diethylstilbestrol (DES) makes it difficult to ascertain the active estrogen between its E and Z isomers. An indirect approach has been used in this project to identify the active estrogen. Methoxylated E- and Z-DES (13 and 14) and 9,10-diethylphenanthrene-3,6-diol (15), a closed ring analog of Z-DES, were synthesized and tested for their estrogenicity. The estrogenicity of 13 is higher than that of 14 and 15, which indicates that E-DES is more estrogenic than Z-DES. Dimethylstilbestrol (16), another analog of DES, was also synthesized and tested. Its estrogenicity is lower than that of DES. Non-estrogenic analogs of bisphenol-A were designed based on the observation that (15) is far less estrogenic than DES. Closed ring analogs of bisphenol-A, 3,6-dihydroxy-9,9-dimethylfluorene (34), 2,6-dihydroxy-9,9-dimethylfluorene (35), and 2,7-dhydroxy-9,9-dimethylfluorene (36) were synthesized and they were found to have little or no estrogenicity. An open ring analog of bisphenol-A, 2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (33) was also synthesized and its estrogenicity is much lower than that of bisphenol-A. Polycarbonate of 36 was also synthesized and its glass transition temperature was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Glass transition temperature of polycarbonate of 36 was found to be 199.92 oC, which is about 50o higher than that of bisphenol-A polycarbonate (150 oC). This indicates that polycarbonate of 36 forms a harder plastic than bisphenol-A polycarbonate. Compounds 2,8-dihydroxy-5,5-dioxo-dibenzothiophene (69) and 2,8-dihydroxydibenzothiophene (70) were also synthesized and were tested as non-estrogenic alternatives for bisphenol-S and bisphenol sulfide, respectively. Compound 69 and 70 were found to be less estrogenic than bisphenol-S and bisphenol sulfide respectively agreeing with our hypothesis. Iodane/quaternary ammonium halide in nitromethane was utilized to explore aromatic bromination, N-nitrosation-dealkylation, and benzoate ester formation from benzylamines. Koser's reagent was found to be a suitable iodane for aromatic bromination reaction, whereas for N-nitrosation-dealkylation, IBX gave the best yields. Further, for N-nitrosation-dealkylation reaction, the halides of quaternary ammonium salts play a crucial role. The effectiveness of halides follows F- > Cl- > Br- ~ I-. The lack of N-nitrosation-dealkylation and ester formation in the absence of nitromethane indicates that nitromethane is playing an essential role as well. Yields of benzoate ester from benzyl amines were low (~22%). Optimization experiments will be performed in the future. Plausible reaction mechanisms for these reactions were proposed. Aromatic bromination was thought to be induced either by iodane/halide adduct or by BrOH that was formed from iodane/halide adduct. Ester formation and N-nitrosation-dealkylation were believed to be induced either by alkyl nitrite or by nitrous acid, generated from the reaction of iodane/halide adduct with nitromethane.

No description available.

This thesis aims to assess the human health impact of exposure to estrogenic compounds from the diet. A multi-disciplinary approach is taken to address various aspects of this issue. An introduction to xenoestrogens, including international research priorities, wildlife and human health effects, mechanisms of action, structure activity relationships and additivity of estrogenic effects is provided as background information. An assessment of exposure to a range of naturally occurring and synthetic estrogenic compounds found in food is derived in Chapter 2. The assessment combines new and existing data on food concentration, food consumption and serum levels for each xenoestrogen. Exposure is combined with relative estrogenic potency data from published bioassasy data to estimate risk relative to normal circulating levels of estradiol. Assuming additivity of xenoestrogens, for an average New Zealand male and for post-menopausal women, xenoestrogens in the diet contribute an additional 12-90% of estrogenicity above normal circulating levels. For a pre-menopausal female, the contribution from the diet represents in the order of an additional 2%. The level of exposure determined in this thesis would seem to be of pharmacological relevance, especially for men with low levels of estrogen and for post-menopausal women. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an important monomer used in the manufacture of epoxy resins for internal food can linings. A survey of the BPA content of a range of 80 canned foods available to the New Zealand consumer was undertaken and the results used in the exposure and risk assessments. BPA was detected in all foods analysed except soft drinks, at concentrations ranging from <10-29 µg/kg, except for individual samples of tuna, corned beef and coconut cream that were 109, 98 and 191 µg/kg respectively. None, of over 4000 individual exposure scenarios, exceeded the temporary Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of 10 µg/kg body weight per day set by the Scientific Committee on Food in 2002. Intestinal microflora influence the bioavailability of the naturally occurring xenoestrogens genistein and daidzein that contribute significantly to total estrogenicity from the diet. The degradation of genistein and daidzein by the faecal microfloral of 5 human subjects was variable and unpredictable between individuals and within an individual. These findings have important implications for the promotion and prescription of soy foods and supplements for disease prevention and health benefits. The "yeast assay" is one of a number of methods available to measure estrogenicity. This assay was established and validated. In utero exposure to estrogenic compounds at critical periods of sexual differentiation and endocrine development may imprint for health effects observed later in life. Placental transfer of estrogenicity, from 17β-estradiol was studied using the human placental perfusion model and the yeast assay. The placenta provides a protective barrier to the transfer of estrogenicity. Experiments with genistein showed that 5-15% placental transfer occurred, suggesting that in utero exposure might be in the order of 10% of maternal exposure. The thesis concludes with consideration of a genomic approach to substantiate, or refute, the mechanistic link between exposure to xenoestrogens and claimed human health effect. Such an approach offers exciting opportunity to clarify the mode of action of the synthetic versus the naturally occurring xenoestrogens, to confirm or dispute additivity of effect that is an important premise of the exposure assessment, to identify key genes involved in the many possible health effects and thence risk to the individual from dietary exposure to xenoestrogens.