Figure 2.
Anti-androgenic and estrogenic effects of LC-PCBs. A) Anti-androgenic activities determined in AIZ-AR cell line co-exposed to LC-PCBs and 2 nM DHT for 24 h. CPTA was used as a control compound suppressing AR activity. The results, expressed relative to DHT-induced luciferase activity, represent means ± S.D. of three independent experiments. Symbols ‘*’ and ‘**’ denote significant difference (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively), as compared to DHT-treated cells. B) Estrogenic activities determined in T47D.luc cells exposed to LC-PCBs or E2, as a reference compound, for 24 h. The results, expressed relative to maximum E2-induced luciferase activity, represent means ± S.D. of three independent experiments. Symbols ‘*’ and ‘**’ denote significant difference (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively), as compared to DMSO-treated cells. C) Induction of cell cycle progression in MCF-7 cells by LC-PCBs. Synchronized MCF-7 cells were exposed to test compounds or vehicle (DMSO) for 24 h and cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Percentage of cells in S-phase was expressed relative to DMSO-treated (control) cells. The results represent means ± S.D. of three independent experiments. Symbols ‘*’ and ‘**’ denote significant difference (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively), as compared to DMSO-treated cells.