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Combining Human Organoids and Organ-on-a-Chip Technology to Model Intestinal Region-Specific Functionality

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The Comamonas testosteroni steroid biosensor system (COSS)--reflection on other methods.

Edmund Maser¹, Guangming Xiong

¹Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology for Natural Scientists, University Medical School Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Brunswiker Str. 10, 24105 Kiel, Germany. maser@toxi.uni-kiel.de

The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

|June 19, 2010

Summary

A new biosensor, COSS (Comamonas testosteroniSteroid Sensor), detects environmental steroid hormones rapidly and sensitively. This bacterial system offers a cost-effective, high-throughput method for monitoring endocrine-disrupting compounds.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Biotechnology
Analytical Chemistry

Background:

Steroid hormones are environmental pollutants impacting organisms due to their endocrine activity.
Existing detection methods are often time-consuming, expensive, or lack sensitivity for environmental monitoring.
There is a critical need for rapid, sensitive, and quantitative techniques for trace steroid analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a sensitive, rapid, and easy-to-use steroid biosensor system.
To utilize the steroid signaling machinery of *Comamonas testosteroni* for environmental steroid detection.
To enable the detection of steroid mixtures at low concentrations in environmental samples.

Main Methods:

Development of a fluorescence-based biosensor system (COSS) using *Comamonas testosteroni* mutant cells and cytosol.
Application of the COSS system for the determination and quantification of various steroids.
Utilizing a microplate format for high-throughput screening capabilities.

Main Results:

The COSS biosensor demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting testosterone (29 pg/mL), estradiol (0.027 pg/mL), and cholesterol (9.7 pg/mL).
The system is fast, reproducible, and suitable for detecting single steroids or mixtures.
COSS detects steroid hormone effects at the molecular level via bacterial steroid-sensing activation.

Conclusions:

The COSS biosensor is a viable tool for sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective detection of environmental steroids.
It facilitates high-throughput screening of environmental samples for hormonally active compounds.
COSS holds potential for future development in assessing the ecotoxicological risks of endocrine-disrupting compounds.