Detection of Agonistic Activities Against Five Human Nuclear Receptors in River Environments of Japan Using a Yeast Two-Hybrid Assay

A total of 16 water samples from four rivers in Japan were examined for their agonistic activities against five human nuclear receptors (estrogen receptor [ER] α, thyroid hormone receptor α, retinoic acid receptor [RAR] α, retinoid X receptor α, and vitamin D receptor) by using a yeast two-hybrid assay. The results suggest that the river environment is contaminated with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that can interact with a variety of nuclear receptors and that contamination with those that have RAR agonistic activity may be more serious than contamination with well-known EDCs that act as ER agonists.