Journal: General and Comparative Endocrinology

Abbreviation

Gen. comp. endocrinol.

Publisher

Elsevier

Journal Volumes

ISSN

0016-6480

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2013 - 201932020 - 20231
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Publications 1 - 4 of 4
  • Impact of environmental estrogens on fish considering the diversity of estrogen signaling
    Item type: Journal Article
    Segner, H.; Casanova-Nakayama, A.; Kase, R.; et al. (2013)
    General and Comparative Endocrinology
  • Contributions of water-borne corticosterone as one non-invasive biomarker in assessing nitrate pollution stress in tadpoles of Rana temporaria
    Item type: Journal Article
    Ruthsatz, Katharina; Eterovick, Paula C.; Bartels, Fabian; et al. (2023)
    General and Comparative Endocrinology
    Among a multitude of stressors to which wildlife is exposed, environmental pollution is a pervasive one that poses a serious threat. The permeable skin of amphibians is likely to increase direct contact of the body with pollutants, making them a group worth studying to access environmental quality. Consequently, finding reliable and complementary biomarkers that will present detectable and predictable changes in response to pollutants is essential to identify pollution sublethal effects on amphibians and to investigate whether these are in part responsible for population declines. The glucocorticoid hormone corticosterone (CORT), involved in many metabolic functions, is often used to measure the physiological stress response to environmental stressors in amphibians. In this study, we evaluated whether water-borne CORT can serve as a non-invasive biomarker for nitrate pollution stress in the European common frog (Rana temporaria) by comparing the effect of nitrate exposure on hormone release rates and on other physiological downstream biomarkers, i.e., ultimate physiological effects of the stressor. Specifically, we investigated the effect of different nitrate concentrations (0, 10, 50, and 100 mg/L) on water-borne CORT release rates, age, size, and body condition. Exposure to nitrate pollution significantly increased age at metamorphosis and water-borne CORT release rates, and led to reduced mass and body condition, but only at higher nitrate concentrations (i.e., 50 and 100 mg/L). Considering this similar sensitivity to other acknowledged biomarkers, water-borne CORT was a reliable biomarker of physiological stress in R. temporaria exposed to nitrate pollution stress in a controlled single-stressor laboratory approach. Thus, water-borne CORT is a promising method to be included in more holistic approaches. We recommend that such approaches keep testing multiple biomarker combinations, as species are exposed to several stressors likely to interact and produce varied outcomes in different biomarkers in their natural habitats.
  • Analysis of protein expression in zebrafish during gonad differentiation by targeted proteomics
    Item type: Journal Article
    Groh, Ksenia J.; Schönenberger, René; Eggen, Rik I.L.; et al. (2013)
    General and Comparative Endocrinology
  • Gene expression profiling of the canine placenta during normal and antigestagen-induced luteolysis
    Item type: Journal Article
    Nowak, Marta; Rehrauer, Hubert; Ay, Serhan S.; et al. (2019)
    General and Comparative Endocrinology
    The domestic dog is the only domestic animal species that does not produce steroids in the placenta and instead relies on luteal steroids throughout pregnancy. Nevertheless, the canine placenta is highly responsive to steroids, and withdrawal of progesterone (P4) affects the feto-maternal unit, initializing the parturition cascade. Similar effects can be observed during antigestagen-induced abortion. Here, aiming to provide new insights into mechanisms involved in the termination of canine pregnancy, next generation sequencing (NGS, RNA-seq) was applied. Placental transcriptomes derived from natural prepartum and antigestagen-induced abortions were analyzed and compared with fully developed mid-gestation placentas. The contrast “prepartum luteolysis over mid-gestation” revealed 1973 differentially expressed genes (DEG). Terms associated with apoptosis, impairment of vascular function and activation of signaling of several cytokines (e.g., IL-8, IL-3, TGF-β) were overrepresented at natural luteolysis. When compared with mid-term, antigestagen treatment revealed 135 highly regulated DEG that were involved in the induced luteolysis and showed similar associations with functional terms and expression patterns as during natural luteolysis. The contrast “antigestagen-induced luteolysis over prepartum luteolysis” revealed that, although similar changes occur in both conditions, they are more pronounced during natural prepartum. Among P4-regulated DEG were those related to immune system and cortisol metabolism. It appears that, besides inducing placental PGF2α output, both natural and induced P4 withdrawal is associated with disruption of the feto-maternal interface, leading to impaired vascular functions, apoptosis and controlled modulation of the immune response. The time-related maturation of the feto-maternal interface needs to be considered because it may be clinically relevant.
Publications 1 - 4 of 4