Effects of o,p′-DDT on the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-inducible CYP1A1 expression in murine Hepa-lc1c7 cells

Cultured mouse hepatoma Hepa-1c1e7 cells were treated with o,p'/-DDT and/or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TODD) to assess the role of o,p'-DDT on CYP1A1 expression. o,p'-DDT alone did not affect CYP1A1-specific 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity. In contrast, TCDD-inducible EROD activities were markedly reduced on concomitant treatment with TCDD and o,p'-DDT in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with ICI 182.780, an estrogen-receptor antagonist, did not affect the suppressive effects of o,p'-DDT on TCDD-inducible EROD activity. TCDD-inducible CYP1A1 mRNA levels were markedly suppressed on treatment with TODD and o,p'-DDT, and this was consistent with their effects on EROD activity. A transient transfection assay using dioxin-response element (DRE)-linked luciferase and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed that o,p'-DDT reduced the transformation of the aryl hydrocarbons (Ah) receptor to a form capable of specifically binding to the DRE sequence in the promoter region of the CYP1A1 gene. These results suggest that the downregulation of CYP1A1 gene expression by o,p'-DDT in Hepa-1c1c7 cells might be an antagonism of the DRE binding potential of the nuclear Ah receptor but is not mediated through the estradiol receptor. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.