Endocrine Abstracts

Currently, there is increasing evidence that various chemicals introduced in the environment have the potential to cause damage to endocrine system, which regulates reproductive processes. Iron has various effects on reproductive endocrinology and it can also cause or contribute to hormonal disruption and to interfere with the key enzymes involved in steroid synthesis. The target of this in vitro study was to determine the effects of iron (FeSO₄·7H₂O) on the steroidogenesis in the human adrenocortical carcinoma (NCl-H295R) cell line, which serves as a model system for screening endocrine-disruptive chemicals. The NCl-H295R cell line was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA). The cells were cultured in the presence of iron (3.9; 62.5; 250; 500; 1000 μM FeSO₄·7H₂O) or without FeSO₄·7H₂O (the control group) for 48 h. ELISA was used for the steroid hormones – testosterone (T) and progesterone (P) quantification directly from the culture medium. A concentration-dependent depression in the testosterone production was observed at the highest concentrations (≥250 μM) of FeSO₄·7H₂O. The groups with the lowest doses (3.9–62.5 μM) stimulated the release of testosterone by the NCl-H295R cell line. The progesterone production was also decreased at the highest concentrations, but this decline was less evident in comparison to the testosterone decrease. The highest concentration of progesterone was significantly (P<0.001) detected at lowest dose (3.9 μM) of FeSO₄·7H₂O. Results of this study showed a dose-dependent decrease of the steroid producing cells at very high concentrations of iron and subsequent changes in the concentration of testosterone and progesterone by adrenocortical carcinoma cells. Iron at low concentrations stimulated the steroid hormones synthesis, which presumably can affect also their metabolites or enzymatic pathways.

Declaration of funding: This work has been supported by the Scientific Agency of the Slovak Republic VEGA No. 1/0532/11 and the SPP Foundation 2011/2012 (Slovak Republic).