In vitro effects of selected endocrine disruptors (DEHP, PCB118, BPA) on narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) primary cells.

Environmental pollutants with endocrine-disrupting effect are of global importance due to their contribution to the aethiologies of variety of complex diseases. These lipophilic pollutants are persistent in the environment and able to bioaccummulate in nontarget organisms. BPA, DEHP and PCB118 (dioxin-like PCB) are associated with endocrine disruption effects, while information on their effects on aquatic invertebrates are limited. In the current study, the effects of these compounds, which are ubiqutous and present at low concentrations in the environment, are studied in the primary hepatopancreas, muscle, gill, intestine and gonadal cultures of narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823), a widely distributed freshwater crayfish in Turkey with high economic importance. IC50 values following MTT assay ranged 0.27-12.61 nM; when compared with other tissues, the gonads were more affected with lower IC50 values. PCB118 induced higher cytotoxicity, while DEHP was the least toxic compound. This is the first study on the primary culture of A. leptodactylus¸ and the toxic effects of these compounds in this organism providing mechanistic insights on the responses and detoxification capacity of the organs. This study provides basis to unravel the mechanism of action of the tested EDCs in crayfish and improvement of cell culture conditions for ecotoxicity and screening assays.