Can Endocrine disrupters interfere with Ca2+ homeostasis in invertebrate cells?

A wide range of environmental chemicals have been shown to alter the endocrine system of both wildlife and humans. There is increasing evidence that many of these endocrine disruptors (EDs), in particular estrogenic chemicals, can rapidly affect cellular homeostasis and signaling in mammalian Ca2+ systems. In this work, in vitro and in vivo data are summarised on the effects of different compounds known or suspected as EDs on homeostasis in Ca2+ marine invertebrate, the blue mussel Mytilus spp. Both synthetic estrogens and different EDs (DES, BPA, NP, PCB congeners, etc.) rapidly increased sytosolic [Ca2+] in mussel hemosytes, as evaluated by FURA2 single cell fluorescence microscopy. The observed [Ca2+] increase was unaffected by the antiestrogen Tamoxifen and was due to either increased influx or release from Ca2+ intracellular stores, depending on the compound. Moreover, different ED,s including the brominated flame retardant TBBPA (tetrabromo bisphenol A) induced a dose-dependent inhibition of the plasma membrane Ca2+ -ATPase (PMCA) activity from mussel gills in vitro, this supporting a direct effect on membrane pumps. The in vitro effects of EDs were observed at concentrations generally higher than those of E2. However, in vivo, mussel exposure to environmetal concentrations of Bisphenol A (BPA) and of the polybrominated diphenyl ether TBDE-47 resulted in large inhibition of PMCA activity in the digestive gland. The results indicate that, in invertebrate like in mammalian systems, interference with Ca2+ homeostasis may represent a significant mode of action of a variety of EDs.