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Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Screening for Endocrine Activity in Water Using Commercially-available In Vitro Transactivation Bioassays
Published on: December 4, 2016
Assessing species-specific differences for nuclear receptor activation for environmental water extracts
Peta A Neale1, Marina Grimaldi2, Abdelhay Boulahtouf2
1Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Southport, Qld, 4222, Australia.
Human and zebrafish nuclear receptor assays detect endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in water. While some species-specific differences exist, human assays remain valuable for water quality monitoring due to availability and broad applicability.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Toxicology
- Ecotoxicology
Background:
- In vitro bioassays are crucial for detecting endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in environmental waters.
- Current reliance on human nuclear receptor assays raises concerns about their ecological relevance.
- Assessing species-specific responses is vital for accurate environmental risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the activation and inhibition of human and zebrafish nuclear receptors by environmental water extracts.
- To evaluate species-specific differences in EDC potency and activity.
- To determine the suitability of human versus zebrafish assays for EDC detection in water.
Main Methods:
- Transactivation assays were performed on human and zebrafish estrogen receptor (ER), androgen receptor (AR), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), progesterone receptor (PR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), pregnane X receptor (PXR), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ).
- Competitive binding assays were conducted for human AR, GR, PR, and MR.
- Wastewater and surface water extracts were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Both human and zebrafish nuclear receptor activities were detected in water extracts.
- Species-specific differences were observed, with higher activity in zebrafish PXR and human PPARγ.
- All extracts inhibited zebrafish PR, while only weak inhibition was seen for human PR.
Conclusions:
- Zebrafish nuclear receptor assays may offer advantages for assessing risks to aquatic organisms.
- However, limited availability of zebrafish assays and minor differences for key receptors like ER support the continued use of human assays.
- Human nuclear receptor assays remain a practical choice for routine water quality monitoring of EDCs.
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