278 EFFECT OF XENOESTROGENS ON THE DIFFERENTIATION OF MOUSE EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS

Endocrine disruptors (ED) may have adverse impacts on reproductive and immune systems in human and wild animals. It has been shown that octyl-phenol (OP) and nonyl-phenol (NP) have estrogenicity in estrogen-responding cells or tissues. In this study, we further investigated the effect(s) of OP and NP on the expression of undifferentiation and differentiation markers in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC), which function as an important factor in the differentiation of ESC into cardiomyocytes. Mouse ESC were cultured in hanging drops to form embryoid bodies (EB). The medium was replaced with phenol red-free DMEM/F-12 supplemented with 5% charcoal-dextran-stripped FBS. The ESC were treated with OP, NP (1Ã-10-6 and 1Ã-10-7 M) or 17ß-estradiol (E2; 1Ã-10-8 and 1Ã-10-9 M) in a time-dependent manner (1, 2 and 3 days), and EB were treated with identical concentrations for 4 and 8 days, respectively. High increasing doses of OP and NP were employed in this study because a binding affinity of ED to estrogen receptors (ER) is about 1000 less than that of E2. We determined the mRNA expression of undifferentiation markers (Oct4, Sox2 and Zfp206) and cardiomyocyte differentiation markers (cardiac alpha-MHC, beta-MHC and myosin light chain isoform-2V) using real-time PCR. In ESC, undifferentiation markers were identified. It is of interest that treatment with OP, NP or E2 induced a significant increase (1.4 5.5-fold) in Oct4 expression at the transcription levels according to a dose- and time-dependent manner. However, no difference was observed in the expression of Sox2 and Zfp206 genes in ESC, suggesting that OP and NP may play a role as an Oct4 enhancer in ESC. In addition, both undifferentiation and cardiomyocyte differentiation markers were identified in EB. Treatment with OP and NP induced a significant increase in the expression of Oct4, Sox2 and Zfp206 genes at the transcription levels in a dose-dependent manner for 4 days, whereas Oct4 expression was only induced at these doses for 8 days. In contrast, cardiomyocyte differentiation markers were reduced by these ED in EB. Taken together, these results suggest that OP and NP play a role as a positive regulator in the undifferentiation process of ESC and EB, and maintenance and differentiation of mouse ESC.