Estrogen linked to lowered immuni...( Exposure to estrogen reduces product...),Health

Exposure to estrogen reduces production of immune-related proteins in fish. This suggests that certain compounds, known as endocrine disruptors, may make fish more susceptible to disease.

The research may provide new clues for why intersex fish, fish kills and fish lesions often occur together in the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. The tests were conducted in a lab by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The study, led by USGS genomics researcher Dr. Laura Robertson, revealed that largemouth bass injected with estrogen produced lowered levels of hepcidin, an important iron-regulating hormone in mammals that is also found in fish and amphibians. This is the first published study demonstrating control of hepcidin by estrogen in any animal.

Besides being an important iron-regulating hormone, researchers also suspect that hepcidin may act as an antimicrobial peptide in mammals, fish and frogs. Antimicrobial peptides are the first line of defense against disease-causing bacteria and some fungi and viruses in vertebrate animals.

"Our research suggests that estrogen-mimicking compounds may make fish more susceptible to disease by blocking production of hepcidin and other immune-related proteins that help protect fish against disease-causing bacteria," said Robertson.

USGS researchers Drs. Vicki Blazer and Luke Iwanowicz have previously found intersex occurring in fish in the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. Intersex is primarily revealed in male fish that have immature female egg cells in their testes. Because other studies have shown that estrogen and estrogen-mimicking compounds can cause intersex, the co-occurrence of fish lesions, fish kills and intersex in these two rivers suggested to USGS scientists that estrogen-mimicking compounds could be involved in the fish lesions and fish kills in addition to being a possible cause of intersex traits.

That caused Robertson and her colleagues to investigate
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