Developmental timing of sodium perchlorate exposure alters angiogenesis, thyroid follicle proliferation and sexual maturation in stickleback

Christoff G. Furin, Frank A. von Hippel, John H. Postlethwait, C. Loren Buck, William A. Cresko, Todd M. O'Hara

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Perchlorate, a common aquatic contaminant, is well known to disrupt homeostasis of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis. This study utilizes the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) fish to determine if perchlorate exposure during certain windows of development has morphological effects on thyroid and gonads. Fish were moved from untreated water to perchlorate-contaminated water (30 and 100mg/L) starting at 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, 42, 154 and 305. days post fertilization until approximately one year old. A reciprocal treatment (fish in contaminated water switched to untreated water) was conducted on the same schedule. Perchlorate exposure increased angiogenesis and follicle proliferation in thyroid tissue, delayed gonadal maturity, and skewed sex ratios toward males; effects depended on concentration and timing of exposure. This study demonstrates that perchlorate exposure beginning during the first 42. days of development has profound effects on stickleback reproductive and thyroid tissues, and by implication can impact population dynamics. Long-term exposure studies that assess contaminant effects at various stages of development provide novel information to characterize risk to aquatic organisms, to facilitate management of resources, and to determine sensitive developmental windows for further study of underlying mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)24-35
Number of pages12
JournalGeneral and comparative endocrinology
Volume219
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Endocrine disruption
  • Gasterosteus aculeatus
  • Histology
  • Ovary
  • Testis
  • Thyroid hormone

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Endocrinology

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