Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of chronic exposure to two components of Tritan™ copolyester on Daphnia magna, Moina macrocopa, and Oryzias latipes, and potential mechanisms of endocrine disruption using H295R cells

  • Published:
Ecotoxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tritan™ copolyester is a novel plastic form from Eastman Company utilizing three main monomers, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol. Despite Tritan™ has been widely applied for plastic bottles, the effects of long-term exposure to these compounds have seldom been investigated. We investigated chronic effects and endocrine disruption potential of CHDM and terephthalic acid (TPA), main mammalian metabolite formed from DMT, using crustacean Daphnia magna and Moina macrocopa, and freshwater fish (Oryzias latipes). The effects on sex hormone balance and the associated mechanisms were also investigated by use of H295R cells. In chronic toxicity test, D. magna showed significant decrease in reproduction (number of young per female) after exposure to 10 mg/L TPA. In early life stage exposure using O. latipes, significant decrease of juvenile survival and weight were observed in fish exposed to 10 mg/L and ≥1 mg/L CHDM, respectively. Expressions of vtg2 mRNA in fish exposed to CHDM and those of cyp19b, star, cyp17, and cyp19a mRNAs in fish exposed to TPA were significantly up-regulated. The results of H295R cell assay also showed that both chemicals at high concentrations could alter sex hormone production in steroidogenic pathway. The effective concentrations of the tested compounds were several orders of magnitude greater than the concentrations can be detected in ambient waters. Further in vivo and in vitro studies will be needed to investigate the effect of co-polymer on endocrine disruption.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen WO, Gerald AL (2000) Effects of endocrine-active chemicals on the development of sex characteristics of Daphnia magna. Environ Toxicol Chem 19:2107–2113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bittner G, Yaniger S et al (2012) Comment on “Lack of androgenicity and estrogenicity of the three monomers used in Eastman’s Tritan™ copolyesters” by Osimitz et al. Food Chem Toxicol 50:4236–4237

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chemical Safety Report (2010) Terephthalic acid. CSR

  • Chemical Safety Report (2013). CHDM_Eastman. CSR-PI-5.4.0

  • Dodson S, Hanazato T (1995) Commentary on effects of anthropogenic and natural organic chemicals on development, swimming behavior, and reproduction of Daphnia, a key member of aquatic ecosystems. Environ Health Perspect 103:7–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2011) Commission directive 2011/8/EU of 28 January 2011 on the restriction of use of Bisphenol A in plastic infant feeding bottles. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:026:0011:0014:EN:PDF. Accessed 17 Feb 2014

  • Goodman JE, Witorsch RJ, McConnell EE, Sipes IG, Slayton TM, Yu CJ (2009) Weight-of-evidence evaluation of reproductive and developmental effects of low doses of Bisphenol A. Crit Rev Toxicol 39:1–75

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hecker M, Newsted JL, Murphy MB, Higley EB, Jones PD, Wu RS, Giesy JP (2006) Human adrenocarcinoma (H295R) cells for rapid in vitro determination of effects on steroidogenesis: hormone production. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 217:114–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heugens EHW, Tokkie LTB, Kraak MHS, Hendriks AJ, van Straalen NM, Admiraal W (2006) Population growth of Daphnia magna under multiple stress conditions: joint effects of temperature, food, and cadmium. Environ Toxicol Chem 25:1399–1407

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hilscherova K, Jones PD, Gracia T, Newsted JL, Zhang X, Sanderson JT, Yu RM, Wu RS, Giesy JP (2004) Assessment of the effects of chemicals on the expression of ten steroidogenic genes in the H295R cell line using real-time PCR. Toxicol Sci 81:78–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ishibashi H, Watanabe N, Matsumura N, Hirano M, Nagao Y, Shiratsuchi H, Kohra S, Yoshihara S, Arizono K (2005) Toxicity to early life stages and estrogenic effect of a Bisphenol A metabolite, 4-methyl-2,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)pent-1-ene on the medaka (Oryzias latipes). Life Sci 77:2643–2655

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ji K, Choi K, Lee S, Park S, Khim JS, Jo EH, Choi K, Zhang X, Giesy JP (2010) Effects of sulfathiazole, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline on steroidogenesis in the human adrenocarcinoma (H295R) cell line and freshwater fish Oryzias latipes. J Hazard Mater 182:494–502

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kime DE (1998) Disruption in eggs, embryos, larvae and juvenile fish. In: Kime DE (ed) Endocrine disruption in fish. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, pp 187–200

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Livak JK, Schmittgen TD (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data by use of real-time quantitative PCR and the 2ΔΔC(T) method. Methods 25:402–408

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1992) OECD Guideline for testing of chemicals, test No. 210: Fish, early-life stage toxicity test. Paris, France

  • Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2009) The 2007 OECD List of High Production Volume Chemicals. ENV/JM/MONO 40. OECD. Paris, France 23 October 2009. http://search.oecd.org/officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf/?cote=env/jm/mono(2009)40&doclanguage=en Accessed 18 Feb 2014

  • Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2012) OECD Guideline for testing of chemicals, test No. 211: Daphnia magna reproduction test. Paris, France

  • Oh S, Choi K (2012) Optimal conditions for three brood chronic toxicity test method using a freshwater macro invertebrate Moina macrocopa. Environ Monit Assess 184:3687–3695

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osimitz TG, Eldridge ML, Sloter E, Welsh W, Ai N, Sayler GS, Menn F, Toole C (2012) Lack of androgenicity and estrogenicity of the three monomers used in Eastman’s Tritan™ copolyesters. Food Chem Toxicol 50:2196–2205

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sumpter JP, Jobling S (1995) Vitellogenesis as a biomarker for estrogenic contamination of the aquatic environment. Environ Health Perspect 103(Suppl 7):173–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (2002) Method for measuring the acute toxicity of effluents and receiving waters to freshwater and marine organisms. EPA/6004-90/027F. Washington, DC

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (2010) Office of pollution prevention and toxics. ChemRTK 1990 HPV challenge program chemicals list. http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/pubs/update/hpv_1990.htm. Accessed 18 Feb 2014

  • WIL Research Laboratories (2008) A Hershberger assay of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol, dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol administered orally in peripubertal orchidoepididyectomized rats. Study No. WIL-387012 sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company, completion date 25 Nov 2008

  • WIL Research Laboratories (2009) A uterotrophic assay of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol, dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol administered orally in ovariectomized rats. Study No. WIL-387013 sponsored by Eastman Chemical Company, completion date January 26, 2009

  • Yang C, Yaniger S, Jordan VC, Klein D, Bittner G (2011) Most plastic release estrogenic chemicals: a potential health problem that can be solved. Environ Health Perspect 119:989–996

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yokota H, Tsuruda Y, Maeda M, Oshima Y, Tadokoro H, Nakazono A, Honjo T, Kobayashi K (2000) Effect of Bisphenol A on the early life stage in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Environ Toxicol 19:1925–1930

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XX, Sun SL, Zhang Y, Wu B, Zhang ZY, Liu B, Yang LY, Cheng SP (2010) Toxicity of purified terephthalic acid manufacturing wastewater on reproductive system of male mice (Mus musculus). J Hazard Mater 176:300–305

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Chang H, Wiseman S, He Y, Higley E, Jones P, Wong CK, Al-Khedhairy A, Giesy JP, Hecker M (2011) Bisphenol A disrupts steroidogenesis in human H295R cells. Toxicol Sci 121:320–327

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the research fund of Yongin University in 2013.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Yongin University, Yongin, 17092, Republic of Korea

    Sol Jang & Kyunghee Ji

  2. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Yongin University, Yongin, 17092, Republic of Korea

    Kyunghee Ji

Authors
  1. Sol Jang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kyunghee Ji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyunghee Ji.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 82 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jang, S., Ji, K. Effect of chronic exposure to two components of Tritan™ copolyester on Daphnia magna, Moina macrocopa, and Oryzias latipes, and potential mechanisms of endocrine disruption using H295R cells. Ecotoxicology 24, 1906–1914 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1526-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1526-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation