Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause transcriptomic changes that may disrupt biological processes associated with reproductive function including metabolism, transport, and cell growth. We investigated effects from in ovo and dietary exposure to 17β-trenbolone (at 0, 1, and 10 ppm) on the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) hepatic transcriptome. Our objectives were to identify differentially expressed hepatic genes, assess perturbations of biological pathways, and examine sex- and developmental stage–related differences. The number of significantly differentially expressed genes was higher in embryos than in adults. Male embryos exhibited greater differential gene expression than female embryos, whereas in adults, males and females exhibited similar numbers of differentially expressed genes (>2-fold). Vitellogenin and apovitellenin-1 were up-regulated in male adults exposed to 10 ppm 17β-trenbolone, and these birds also exhibited indications of immunomodulation. Functional grouping of differentially expressed genes identified processes including metabolism and transport of biomolecules, enzyme activity, and extracellular matrix interactions. Pathway enrichment analyses identified as perturbed peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor pathway, cardiac muscle contraction, gluconeogenesis, growth factor signaling, focal adhesion, and bile acid biosynthesis. One of the primary uses of 17β-trenbolone is that of a growth promoter, and these results identify effects on mechanistic pathways related to steroidogenesis, cell proliferation, differentiation, growth, and metabolism of lipids and proteins. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2559–2570. © 2021 SETAC. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

中文翻译：

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暴露于 17β-群勃龙的日本鹌鹑 (Coturnix japonica) 肝脏转录组的性别和发育阶段相关差异

干扰内分泌的化学物质会引起转录组的变化，从而破坏与生殖功能相关的生物过程，包括新陈代谢、运输和细胞生长。我们调查了 17β-群勃龙（0、1 和 10 ppm）对日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica) 肝转录组。我们的目标是识别差异表达的肝脏基因，评估生物途径的扰动，并检查性别和发育阶段相关的差异。胚胎中显着差异表达的基因数量高于成人。雄性胚胎表现出比雌性胚胎更大的差异基因表达，而在成人中，雄性和雌性表现出相似数量的差异表达基因（> 2 倍）。在暴露于 10 ppm 17β-群勃龙的成年雄性中，卵黄原蛋白和 apovitellenin-1 上调，这些鸟类也表现出免疫调节的迹象。差异表达基因的功能分组确定了包括生物分子的代谢和转运、酶活性和细胞外基质相互作用在内的过程。通路富集分析确定为干扰过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体通路、心肌收缩、糖异生、生长因子信号传导、粘着斑和胆汁酸生物合成。17β-群勃龙的主要用途之一是生长促进剂，这些结果确定了对与类固醇生成、细胞增殖、分化、生长和脂质和蛋白质代谢相关的机制途径的影响。环境毒物化学2021；40:2559–2570。© 2021 SETAC。本文由美国政府雇员贡献，他们的工作在美国属于公共领域。