A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well characterized endocrine disruptor that interferes with the activity of a variety of nuclear receptors. For this reason, BPA has the potential to impact the function of the endocrine system and alter cellular physiology. In this study, we present a novel experimental syste...

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Main Authors: Patricia Vega-Cuesta, Diego Pulido, David Abia, Sandra Herrera, Ana Lopez-Varea, Ana Ruiz-Gómez, Paloma Fernández-Freire, Ana Peropadre, Jose F. de Celis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325008231
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author Patricia Vega-Cuesta
Diego Pulido
David Abia
Sandra Herrera
Ana Lopez-Varea
Ana Ruiz-Gómez
Paloma Fernández-Freire
Ana Peropadre
Jose F. de Celis
author_facet Patricia Vega-Cuesta
Diego Pulido
David Abia
Sandra Herrera
Ana Lopez-Varea
Ana Ruiz-Gómez
Paloma Fernández-Freire
Ana Peropadre
Jose F. de Celis
author_sort Patricia Vega-Cuesta
collection DOAJ
description Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well characterized endocrine disruptor that interferes with the activity of a variety of nuclear receptors. For this reason, BPA has the potential to impact the function of the endocrine system and alter cellular physiology. In this study, we present a novel experimental system to characterize the actions of dietary BPA on organism physiology. We used Drosophila melanogaster larvae genetically deficient for the synthesis of the major insect steroid hormone, ecdysone. These larvae exhibit a variety of phenotypes that can be rescued by dietary supplementation of 20-hydroxy-ecdysone or Ponasterone A, a naturally occurring ecdysteroid. We tested the effect of different concentrations of BPA exposure in this genetic background, and found that this chemical partially rescues the deficit in ecdysone. Furthermore, through in silico structural predictions of the Ecdysone receptor's ligand binding domain, we identified a protein domain capable of accommodating with different affinities ecdysone, Ponasterone A and BPA molecules. These findings pave the way for novel experimental approaches to identify and characterize new potential vertebrate endocrine disruptors.
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spelling doaj-art-dd700ec9abeb48eeb6464e0b3c57d4f42025-08-20T03:45:27ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132025-07-0130011848310.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118483A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol APatricia Vega-Cuesta0Diego Pulido1David Abia2Sandra Herrera3Ana Lopez-Varea4Ana Ruiz-Gómez5Paloma Fernández-Freire6Ana Peropadre7Jose F. de Celis8Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Spain; Department of Molecular Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, SpainCentro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, SpainCentro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, SpainCentro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, SpainCentro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, SpainCentro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Spain; Department of Molecular Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; Corresponding authors.Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Spain; Corresponding authors.Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well characterized endocrine disruptor that interferes with the activity of a variety of nuclear receptors. For this reason, BPA has the potential to impact the function of the endocrine system and alter cellular physiology. In this study, we present a novel experimental system to characterize the actions of dietary BPA on organism physiology. We used Drosophila melanogaster larvae genetically deficient for the synthesis of the major insect steroid hormone, ecdysone. These larvae exhibit a variety of phenotypes that can be rescued by dietary supplementation of 20-hydroxy-ecdysone or Ponasterone A, a naturally occurring ecdysteroid. We tested the effect of different concentrations of BPA exposure in this genetic background, and found that this chemical partially rescues the deficit in ecdysone. Furthermore, through in silico structural predictions of the Ecdysone receptor's ligand binding domain, we identified a protein domain capable of accommodating with different affinities ecdysone, Ponasterone A and BPA molecules. These findings pave the way for novel experimental approaches to identify and characterize new potential vertebrate endocrine disruptors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325008231Endocrine disruptionBisphenol APonasterone AEcdysonePupariation
spellingShingle Patricia Vega-Cuesta
Diego Pulido
David Abia
Sandra Herrera
Ana Lopez-Varea
Ana Ruiz-Gómez
Paloma Fernández-Freire
Ana Peropadre
Jose F. de Celis
A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Endocrine disruption
Bisphenol A
Ponasterone A
Ecdysone
Pupariation
title A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A
title_full A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A
title_fullStr A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A
title_full_unstemmed A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A
title_short A Drosophila ecdysone-deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of Bisphenol A
title_sort drosophila ecdysone deficient model to assess the endocrine disruptor activity of bisphenol a
topic Endocrine disruption
Bisphenol A
Ponasterone A
Ecdysone
Pupariation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651325008231
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