Effect of Endocrine Disruptors on the Oocyte Maturation and Ovulation in Amphibians, Rana dybowskii

Recently, we have shown that some endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, organotins and azoles suppressed steroidogenic enzymes such as P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) and aromatase in bullfrog ovarian follicles. In the present study, by using an amphibian ovarian follicle culture system, we examined the effects of these endocrine disruptors on maturation and ovulation of oocytes from Rana dybowskii in vitro. Ovarian fragments or isolated follicles were cultured for 24 h in a medium containing frog pituitary homogenate (FPH) or progesterone ($P_{4}$) with or without endocrine disruptors, and oocyte maturation (germinal vesicle breakdown, GVBD) and ovulation were examined. Among the organotins, tributyltin (TBT) strongly inhibited both FPH-and $P_{4}-induced$ oocyte maturation ($ED_{50}$:0.6 and 0.7 ${\mu}M$, respectively); however, tetrabutyltin (TTBT) and dibutyltin (DBT) showed only partial suppression, while monobutyltin (MBT) showed no inhibitory effect. All of the organotins suppressed $P_{4}-induced$ oocyte ovulation very effectively at a low concentration, and TBT and DBT exerted an inhibitory effect on FPH-induced ovulation. Among the heavy metals, mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and cobalt (Co) were very effective in inhibiting FPH-induced oocyte maturation and ovulation, while lead (Pb), arsenite (As) and zinc (Zn) were less effective. However, all of the heavy metals suppressed FPH-induced oocyte ovulation at a high dose ($100{\mu}M$). Among the azoles, itraconazole (ICZ), ketoconazole (KCZ) and clotrimazole (CTZ) effectively inhibited FPH-induced oocyte maturation and ovulation, while econazole (ECZ), miconazole (MCZ) and fluconazole (FCZ) were considerably less effective. These results demonstrated that the abovementioned endocrine disruptors exhibited differential effects on oocyte maturation and ovulation in amphibian follicles and that the frog ovarian culture system could be used as an effective experimental tool to screen and evaluate the toxicity of various endocrine disruptors in vitro.