Environmentally Persistent Pesticides: In Vitro Effects on Human Aromatase Activity and ERα Signaling.
- 1Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123Torino, Italy.
- 2Department of Sciences of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, 10126Torino, Italy.
Abstract
The presence and persistence of pesticides represent a concern for public health due to their potential activity as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) by interfering with hormone synthesis and signaling, leading to severe effects on human well-being. This work investigates the activity of a series of pesticides detected in Italian surface and groundwater on two key molecular targets of the endocrine system: human aromatase (CYP19A1), responsible for the conversion of androgens into estrogens, and estrogen receptor α (ERα), essential for the estrogen-induced signaling pathway. Out of the eight pesticides tested, imazamox, metolachlor, and nicosulfuron were found to partially inhibit aromatase activity (up to ∼20% inhibition was observed when 10 or 50 μM was applied). UV/vis spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry were used to calculate dissociation constants for imazamox and metolachlor that resulted of 18.8 ± 0.8 and 1.8 ± 0.7 μM, respectively. For imazamox, it was possible also to obtain a dose-response curve and to calculate an IC50 of 5.2 ± 0.8 μM. As for the estrogen receptor α, MELN (MCF-7 ERE-β-globin Luciferase Neo) gene reporter assay revealed that quinclorac and terbuthylazine-desethyl induced nuclear ERα-mediated transcriptional activation with a mean EC50 of 9.02 × 10-4 and 1.83 × 10-5 M, respectively. The data provide new insights into pesticide interference with key molecular target enzymes and receptors of the estrogen axis to better understand the impact they could have on human health when present as persistent environmental contaminants that can bioaccumulate.
Related
- Vulnerability to flood-sensitive environmentally persistent zoonoses: a scoping review
- Microbial PAMPs-PRR driven neuroimmune signaling in the development of post-infectious persistent pain.
- P017 Serial DXA Monitoring in Aromatase Inhibitor-Induced Bone Loss: A Decade of Progressive Bone Loss, Stabilisation with Bisphosphonate Therapy and Recovery Following Endocrine Therapy Cessation
- Laser Therapy for Sexual Health in Breast Cancer Survivors Receiving Aromatase Inhibitors : A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial
- Age and sex impact resting-state EEG aperiodic activity beyond symptom associations in persistent post-concussive symptoms
BibTeX
@article{armellino2026environmentally,
title = {{Environmentally Persistent Pesticides: In Vitro Effects on Human Aromatase Activity and ERα Signaling.}},
author = {Francesca Armellino and Sabrina Costa and Francesco Giaretto and Michela Rossi and Gianluca Catucci and Gianfranco Gilardi and Tiziana Schilirò and Giovanna Di Nardo},
journal = {Chemical research in toxicology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/acs.chemrestox.6c00151},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915725},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Environmentally Persistent Pesticides: In Vitro Effects on Human Aromatase Activity and ERα Signaling.
AU - Francesca Armellino
AU - Sabrina Costa
AU - Francesco Giaretto
AU - Michela Rossi
AU - Gianluca Catucci
AU - Gianfranco Gilardi
AU - Tiziana Schilirò
AU - Giovanna Di Nardo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Chemical research in toxicology
DO - 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.6c00151
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915725
AB - The presence and persistence of pesticides represent a concern for public health due to their potential activity as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) by interfering with hormone synthesis and signaling, leading to severe effects on human well-being. This work investigates the activity of a series of pesticides detected in Italian surface and groundwater on two key molecular targets of the endocrine system: human aromatase (CYP19A1), responsible for the conversion of androgens into estrogens, and estrogen receptor α (ERα), essential for the estrogen-induced signaling pathway. Out of the eight pesticides tested, imazamox, metolachlor, and nicosulfuron were found to partially inhibit aromatase activity (up to ∼20% inhibition was observed when 10 or 50 μM was applied). UV/vis spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry were used to calculate dissociation constants for imazamox and metolachlor that resulted of 18.8 ± 0.8 and 1.8 ± 0.7 μM, respectively. For imazamox, it was possible also to obtain a dose-response curve and to calculate an IC50 of 5.2 ± 0.8 μM. As for the estrogen receptor α, MELN (MCF-7 ERE-β-globin Luciferase Neo) gene reporter assay revealed that quinclorac and terbuthylazine-desethyl induced nuclear ERα-mediated transcriptional activation with a mean EC50 of 9.02 × 10-4 and 1.83 × 10-5 M, respectively. The data provide new insights into pesticide interference with key molecular target enzymes and receptors of the estrogen axis to better understand the impact they could have on human health when present as persistent environmental contaminants that can bioaccumulate.
SN - 0893-228X
SN - 1520-5010
ER -