| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
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| Research Abstract |
1. Identification of prostatic secreted proteins in mice: Major secreted proteins from the ventral (VP), dorso-lateral (DLP) and anterior prostate (AP) of mice were identified by means of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis. The measurement of newly identified prostate proteins should contribute to an understanding of developmental interference of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
2. In vivo function of the 5' flanking region of mouse estrogen receptor (ER)β gene: It has been postulated that ER has an important role in development of the prostate gland, so that regulation of ER is critical for understanding toxicological effects of endocrine disruptors in prostate development. We examined the in vivo promoter activity of 5'f region of the ERβ gene in transgenic mice with the lacZ reporter. About 2.2 kbps of the proximal 5'f region of ERβ was cloned and inserted into reporter plasmids. Quantitative measurement of mRNA showed that lacZ was expressed only in the testis, in which sertoli were confirmed to be lacZ-positive, but not in the prostate. The study suggests that the 5'f region is able to direct testis-specific expression, but is not itself sufficient to determine the expression in other organs.
3. Androgen activity of benzophenone and bromine-based flame retardants: Using the androgen responsive gene reporter assay and in vivo prostate assay, androgenic activities of benzophenones (BPs), used as UV stabilizers, and brominated flame retardants, were examined. Interestingly, 2,4,4'-triOH-BP were found to be androgenic (with partially anti-androgenic activity) as well as estrogenic. This chemical could potentially disrupt the neonatal development of the prostate by both hormonal activities.
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