Abstract
The effects of the world wide-distributed chemical bisphenol A (BPA) on the endocrine system of vertebrates have been demonstrated in several studies. Here, we report on the impact of BPA (0, 5, 50 and 500 μg/l nominally, deduced effective concentrations 0, 0.24, 2.4, and 24.1 μg/l, respectively, all at 15 °C) on the 70 kD stress protein family (hsp70), the 90 kD stress protein family (hsp90), and gonad histology of the crustacean Gammarus fossarum exposed in artificial indoor streams. The animals were exposed for a maximum of 103 days and samples were taken at the beginning and at days 34, 69 and 103 of the experiment. Exposure to BPA resulted in accelerated maturation of oocytes in females and in a decline in the number and size of early vitellogenic oocytes. The level of hsp90, which plays a pivotal role in vertebrate sex steroid signal transduction, was significantly reduced by BPA. In all five streams, measured parameters did not indicate any captivity stress for a period of 69 days. Beyond this time, the mortality rate and proteotoxic effects, the latter measured by hsp70 expression, were found to be elevated.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank A. Köhler for assistance in sectioning and histological quantification, and A. Woitschella for the modified design of Fig. 2. Furthermore, we are grateful to the German Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt, Berlin, FKZ 299 65 221/05) for funding. The helpful comments of two anonymous referees are acknowledged as well.
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Schirling, M., Jungmann, D., Ladewig, V. et al. Bisphenol A in Artificial Indoor Streams: II. Stress Response and Gonad Histology in Gammarus fossarum (Amphipoda). Ecotoxicology 15, 143–156 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-005-0044-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-005-0044-2