17-α-Ethinylestradiol modulates endocrine and behavioral responses to stress in zebrafish

Autor: Ana Paula Vanin, Wagner Antonio Tamagno, Jéssica Reis de Oliveira Sofiatti, Leonardo José Gil Barcellos, Rosilene R. Kaizer, Helen Treichel, Lurian Fenske, Ani Carla Concato, João Gabriel Santos da Rosa
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 27:29341-29351
ISSN: 1614-7499
0944-1344
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09318-7
Popis: The synthetic estrogen, 17-α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), present in contraceptive pills, is an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) that can be found in the aquatic environment. We examined the impacts of EE2 on zebrafish behavioral and physiological responses through the novel tank test (NTT), which measures anxiety-like behavior; the mirror-induced aggression (MIA) test, which measures aggressiveness; and the social preference test (SPT), which measures social cohesion. The steroid hormone levels were also measured. Here, we show that exposure to EE2 impairs stress responses by regulating the levels of specific hormones and eliciting an anxiolytic response, increasing aggression, and reducing social preference in zebrafish. In nature, these changes in behavior compromise reproduction and anti-predator behaviors, which, in turn, affects species survival. The maintenance of an intact behavioral repertoire in zebrafish is essential for their survival. Thus, our results point to the danger of environmental contamination with EE2 as it may alter the dynamics of the prey-predator relationship.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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