MASSARI , Alessandra

Renin-angiotensin system is present in mammalian ovarian follicular fluid and follicles. The demonstration of specific binding sites for angiotensin II in the follicular structures of rats suggests that angiotensin II may be related to the regulation of steroid biosynthesis in the mammalian ovary. Little is known about the presence and the...

A number of man-made chemicals has been shown to mimic endogenous hormones and to induce alterations of reproductive physiology in wild populations. Of particular importance are compounds that mimic estrogens and androgens (and their antagonists), because of their central role in reproductive function. In this study, male and female adult South...

Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) is suspected to be the cause for the increasing number of reproductive disorders in wildlife. It is well established that many chemicals in the environment can interfere with signalling mechanisms/hormonal regulation of fish at concentrations considerably below those causing cellular toxicity....

DMRT1 has been suggested to be the first conserved gene involved in sex differentiation found from invertebrates to human. DMRT1 genes have been characterised in several species of fish, but have not been isolated in carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carp has been widely studied as an indicator of pollution in watercourses throughout South-Europe, and so...

A wide range of environmental pollutants called Endocrine Disrupters (ED) can mimic steroid hormones causing adverse health effects. Previous studies have demonstrated that bisphenol-A (BPA) represents a relevant compound within chemicals present in water and sediments coming from a polluted area of the Po plain. This study is aimed to...

African clawed toad (Xenopus laevis) has been established as a very suitable model for studying the effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) on reproductive biology. In a previous study we demonstrated severe alterations of testis organization (i.e. reduction of tubule diameter and number of germ cell nests and occurrence of small...

Le risposte che l'organismo realizza quando e sottoposto ad uno stress metabolico od ambientale rappresentano potenziali biomarcatori utilizzabili per il monitoraggio. Mediante lo studio delle risposte immediate un biomarcatore permette infatti di prevedere con notevole anticipo l'insorgenza di effetti nocivi come cancerogenesi, alterazioni...

The effects on gonad morphology, sex steroid and vitellogenin (VTG) plasma levels were investigated in k2 carps exposed to graded concentrations of tamoxifen, ethynyl-oestradiol (EE2), flutamide and methyl-dihydro-testosterone (MDHT), four chemicals chosen as prototype of anti-estrogenic, estrogenic, anti-androgenic and androgenic activities,...

Numerosi inquinanti organici, tra cui i policlorinati bifenili (PCB) hanno la capacita di bioaccumularsi nei tessuti dei pesci e di interferire con il loro sistema endocrino determinando alterazioni soprattutto a carico del sistema riproduttivo e sistema nervoso. L'accumulo di tali sostanze nei tessuti dei prodotti ittici, direttamente...

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An immunocytochemical study on atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was carried out in trout ovaries using an antiserum raised against human atrial natriuretic peptide (hANP). Weakly immunoreactive material was observed both in the ooplasm of the previtellogenic and the early vitellogenic oocytes and in the follicular cells of the late vitellogenic...

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Many studies have employed in vitro incubation techniques to examine steroid production by the ovarian follicle of teleosts. The dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus, Perciformes, Serranidae) is a promising species for the Mediterranean aquaculture and restocking program in coastal areas. The reproductive pattern of the species (hermaphrodite...

Chemical analyses of bed sediments and tissues of wild cyprinids sampled downstream from the confluence of the River Lambro, a polluted tributary that drains a heavily industrialised sub-basin of the Po River, showed the presence of moderate concentrations of xenoestrogens (Viganò et al., Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxycol., 38: 209, 2000). About...

The objective of this study was to correlate morphological and biochemical parameters of reproductive activity in fish exposed to graded concentrations of endocrine disrupting chemicals. Two-year-old carps were exposed for two weeks to graded concentrations of ethynyl-estradiol, tamoxifen, and flutamide. For each chemical, morphological...

Many diseases are the outcome of a complex inter-relationship between multiple genetic and environmental factors. Research suggests that individual susceptibility is influenced more by certain genes than by exposure to environmental agents. The startup of Human genome project has induced the activation, by NIEHS, of a companion project: the...

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The developmental stages of female germ cells were analysed in a wild population of the protogynous teleost Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834). 321 wild dusky grouper females were collected in the South Mediterranean Sea during the spawning season and their ovaries analysed using histological and histochemical techniques. Oocyte morphology,...

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Sulfation plays a major role in regulating the active concentrations of a variety of biologically important molecules, including steroids, catecholamines and peptides. Sulfation is also important in the detoxification of many xenobiotics. Hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase (HST) catalyses the biosynthesis of sulfated steroids in classical...