Short-term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of EDC mixtures on Mytilus galloprovincialis digestive gland

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), including both natural estrogens and estrogenic chemicals, are almost ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. In the marine bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis different estrogenic compounds, both individually and in mixtures, were shown to affect the immune function both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, individual estrogens, the natural estrogen 17 beta-estradiol (E(2)) and the xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA), have been recently demonstrated to alter functional parameters and gene expression in mussel digestive gland, a tissue that plays a central role in metabolism and in nutrient distribution to the gonad during gamete maturation, with possible consequences on gametogenesis. In this work, the possible effects of a synthetic mixture of EDCs on the digestive gland were evaluated. The mixture contained seven estrogenic chemicals (17 beta-estradiol, 17 alpha-ethynyl estradiol, mestranol (MES), nonylphenol, nonylphenol monoethoxylate carboxylate (NP1EC), BPA, benzophenone (BP)), in proportions similar to those previously found in water samples of a coastal lagoon. Mussels were injected with different concentrations of the mixture (approximate nominal concentrations of total EDCs: 0.0177, 0.177, 1.77 and 177 ng/gdw) and tissues sampled 24 h post-injection. The mixture induced significant changes in lysosomal biomarkers (lysosomal membrane stability (LMS), neutral lipid (NL) and lipofuscin (LF) accumulation) as well as in the activities of catalase, glutathione transferase (GST), and of the glycolytic enzymes phosphofructokinase (PFK) and pyruvate kinase (PK). Moreover, downregulation of the gene transcription for the Mytilus estrogen receptor MeER1 isoform and for catalase, as evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR, were observed. Significant changes in lysosomal biomarkers, enzyme activities and gene transcription were also recorded at 72 h post-injection. The results demonstrate that short-term exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of EDC mixtures can interfere with the lysosomal function, redox-related enzyme activities and gene transcription of mussel digestive gland.