Sex steroid disrupting effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the Persian Gulf Arabian Sea bream, Acanthopagrus arabicus: In vitro model of environmental drug contamination.

The presence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems and their impact on humans and the environment are growing concerns in environmental health. This study aimed to evaluate the potential reproductive effects of diclofenac, ibuprofen, and aspirin on dissociated ovarian and testicular cells from Arabian Sea bream, Acanthopagrus arabicus. The cells were exposed to varying concentrations of the pharmaceuticals for 48 h. Steroid (17-β-estradiol (E2) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT)) production by the cells was assessed at 0, 12, 24, and 48 h of the experiment. The findings showed that diclofenac did not impact the production of E2 and 11-KT by ovarian cells, but it did significantly decrease the secretion of 11-KT from testicular cells. Ibuprofen and aspirin, on the other hand, both increased the production of the studied steroid hormones by ovarian cells and reduced the secretion of 11-KT by testicular cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The pharmaceuticals studied were potent inhibitors of 11-KT secretion, particularly at higher concentrations in the cultured testicular cells. However, they were also found to stimulate steroid production from fish ovarian cells. In conclusion, the results suggest that analgesics (diclofenac, ibuprofen, and aspirin) have the potential to disrupt estrogen biosynthesis and impact reproduction in fish.