REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
This article is part of the Research TopicModel Organisms in Neuropharmacology 2024View all 9 articles
Disruption of estrogen signaling by developmental exposure to BPA and TBT causes long term functional deficits in zebrafish retina
Provisionally accepted
- American University, Washington, DC, United States
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Bisphenol A (BPA) and tributyltin (TBT) are two endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) that have opposite effects on estrogen signaling. BPA is an estrogen agonist that binds to all estrogen receptor types. TBT is an aromatase inhibitor that binds to the enzyme aromatase, preventing the synthesis of estrogen from testosterone. Both estrogen receptors and aromatase are localized to the retina and estrogen signaling is required for proper eye and retinal neurogenesis. Abnormal eye growth and retinal changes are reported immediately after developmental exposure to either EDC consistent with the role of estrogen in proper neurogenesis. In this review, we examine the impact of BPA and TBT exposure on the development and function of the visual system. We focus primarily on zebrafish but include data from other species to show trends across vertebrates. We discuss a case study designed to determine if a transient developmental exposure to BPA or TBT has persistent effects that are evident in adults and if these latent outcomes reflect the opposite impact of these compounds on estrogen signaling. Surprisingly, although some opposing outcomes were observed, most differences in adult retinal function were similar between the two compounds, with varying effects noted by concentration and exposure age. Overall, we conclude that developing zebrafish retina is sensitive to EDCs that target estrogenic pathways. However, these findings cannot be explained by estrogenic modulation alone, suggesting additional mechanisms beyond their current established roles.
Keywords: bisphenol A, danio rerio, erg, estrogen, Tributyltin
Received: 20 Nov 2025; Accepted: 20 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Jensen, Ouellette, Harris, Owrang and Connaughton. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Victoria P Connaughton
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