Estrogen receptor- and aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated activities of a coal-tar creosote

A coal-tar creosote was examined for estrogen receptor (ER)- and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated activity using a battery of mechanistically based assays. In vitro, creosote was found to bind to the mouse ER, bind to the human sex hormone-binding globulin, and elicit partial agonist activity in reporter gene assays in transiently transfected MCF-7 cells. Based on competitive binding to the mouse ER, creosote contains approximately 165 mg/L of estradiol-equivalents. Creosote effectively transformed the AhR in vitro and induced a Cyp1a1-regulated luciferase reporter gene in transiently transfected Hepa lclc7 cells. Based on dose- response curves, creosote contains approximately 730 mg/L of dioxin- equivalents. Creosote did not exhibit any AhR-mediated antiestrogenic activity in vitro. In vivo, creosote significantly induced liver pentoxyresorufin O-depentylation and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylation (EROD) in a dose-dependent manner in ovariectomized (OVX) ICR mice, but did not increase uterine weight wet or vaginal cornification, due possibly to AhR- mediated antiestrogenic activity. In OVX DBA/2 mice, a strain less responsive to AhR ligands, creosote induced liver EROD to a lesser extent, but still did not show an increase in uterine wet weight or vaginal cornification. These results demonstrate that coal-tar creosote exhibits AhR- and ER-mediated activity in vitro, but its dioxinlike activity may suppress estrogenic responses in vivo.