Transcriptional activation of estrogen receptor ERalpha and ERbeta by polycyclic musks is cell type dependent

In the past decade the list of chemicals in the environment that are able to mimic the natural hormone estrogen, thereby disrupting endocrine function, has grown rapidly. These chemicals are able to bind to estrogen receptors (ERs) and influence estrogen signaling pathways, although several of them have structures that differ substantially from the endogenous hormone 17beta-estradiol. Because of their polycyclic nature, the polycyclic musks AHTN (6-acetyl-1,1,2,4,4,7-hexamethyltetraline) and HHCB (1,2,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta-gamma-2-benzopyran) were assessed for interaction with estrogen receptors. These compounds are ubiquitously present in surface waters and have been identified in human milk fat and blood. Using sensitive in vitro reporter gene assays, we found that AHTN and HHCB act as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), inducing both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity dependent on the cell line and the ER subtype targeted. Weak estrogenic effects were observed only at relatively high concentrations (10 microM). Antiestrogenic effects were observed in various cell lines starting at concentrations of 0.1 microM. In comparison with the well-known SERM, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, AHTN and HHCB have a much lower potency in suppressing estradiol-induced transactivation. Results with various mutant ER receptor types suggest that binding sites of the musk compounds differ from 17beta-estradiol and 4-hydroxytamoxifen. The cell type dependency of ER transactivation shows that caution should be exerted when interpreting effects of estrogenic compounds using in vitro systems.