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Exogastrulation and interference with the expression of major yolk protein by estrogens administered to sea urchins

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Abstract

Although estrogens have been detected in some echinoderm species, their role is not clearly understood; so we examined the effects of estrogens administered to sea urchin embryos and larvae. A typical malformation was exogastrulation, induced by the exposure to ethynylestradiol (EER) in a defined period of 12 h from 12 h after fertilization (HAF). Morphogenesis for gastrulation was delayed in the treated embryos: protrusion of the archenteron started at 30 HAF when gastrulation had already finished in normal embryos. Exogastrulation induced by EER was cancelled by the antiestrogen chemical, ICI182,780. Feeding larvae were less sensitive to estrogens than those in early embryogenesis and, at certain concentrations, developed without abnormal morphology. The effect of estrogens was examined at the level of gene expression of the major yolk protein (MYP). MYP expression started during the larval stage and was suppressed by estrone at the six-armed stage, but not by β-estradiol, and in later stage larvae, the expression was not affected by treatment with either estrogen. Estrogens affect sea urchins in the early stage of embryogenesis, leading to abnormal morphogenesis and interference with gene expression.

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Abbreviations

DAF:

days after fertilization

EER:

ethynylestradiol

HAF:

hours after fertilization

ICI:

ICI182,780

MYP:

major yolk protein

RT-PCR:

reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

TAM:

tamoxifen

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Mamoru Yamaguchi (Tateyama Marine Laboratory, Marine and Coastal Research Center, Ochanomizu University) and the staff of the International Coastal Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo for the animal collections. The study was partly supported through a grant of Long-range Research Initiative (LRI) of the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA).

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Author notes

  1. Ayumi Kikuchi

    Present address: Institute of Environmental Informatics, IDEA Consultants, Inc., 2-2-2 Hayabuchi, Tsuzuki, Yokohama, 224-0025, Japan

  2. Seiko Morinaga

    Present address: Laboratory of Signal Transduction, Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8568, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tateyama Marine Laboratory, Marine and Coastal Research Center, Ochanomizu University, Kou-yatus 11, Tateyama, Chiba, 294-0301, Japan

    Masato Kiyomoto, Ayumi Kikuchi & Seiko Morinaga

  2. Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Suido-cho, Niigata, 951-8121, Japan

    Tatuya Unuma

  3. Department of Applied Information Science and Technology, Aichi Prefectural University, Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1198, Japan

    Yukio Yokota

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  1. Masato Kiyomoto
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Correspondence to Masato Kiyomoto.

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Kiyomoto, M., Kikuchi, A., Morinaga, S. et al. Exogastrulation and interference with the expression of major yolk protein by estrogens administered to sea urchins. Cell Biol Toxicol 24, 611–620 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-008-9073-y

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