Genotoxicity and estrogenic activity of 3,3'-dinitrobisphenol A in goldfish.

3,3'-Dinitrobisphenol A (dinitro-BPA) is formed in a mixture of bisphenol A (BPA) and nitrite under acidic conditions. It shows genotoxicity in male ICR mice on a micronucleus test, but its estrogenic activity has not been examined in vivo. We examined its estrogenic activity using goldfish (Carassius auratus) by measuring plasma levels of vitellogenin (VTG) by the ELISA method. Expression of VTG didn't increase in the plasma of goldfish intraperitoneal injected with dinitro-BPA at a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight. We also examined the genotoxicity of dinitro-BPA by single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) and a micronucleus test using goldfish. The DNA tail moment of blood cells increased after intraperitoneal injection of dinitro-BPA. Dinitro-BPA at the same dose significantly increased micronucleus frequency in gills of goldfish. On the other hand, BPA did not significantly increase the frequency of micronucleated cells. In conclusion, we found that dinitro-BPA did not show estrogenic activity, but had genotoxic potency stronger than that of BPA.