The progestin norethindrone affects sex differentiation and alters transcriptional profiles of genes along the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axes in juvenile zebrafish Dario renio

•NET affects sex differentiation and alters transcriptional profiles of genes along the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axes in juvenile zebrafish Dario renio.•Significantly higher ratio of male/female was induced in the zebrafish populations exposed to NET at environmentally relevant concentrations.•Exposure to NET caused acceleration of sexual mature in males and a delay in ovary maturation in female zebrafish. Natural and synthetic progestins may pose a threat to wild fish populations living in receiving waters. In this study, the effects of norethindrone (NET) on the sex differentiation of zebrafish (Dario renio) and the mechanisms underlying these effects were investigated. Juvenile zebrafish (20 days post fertilization, pdf) were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations (5, 50, 500, and 1000 ng L−1) for 45 d. Sex ratio of the NET-exposed populations, the histology of the gonads and the transcriptional profile of the regulatory genes involved in sex differentiation and steroidogenesis were examined. The results showed that a significantly higher ratio of male/female was induced in the zebrafish populations exposed to NET at concentrations higher than 32.3 ng L−1. Exposure to NET caused acceleration of sexual mature in males and a delay in ovary maturation in female zebrafish. Among the genes regulating sexual differentiation, transcripts of Dmrt1 showed a dose-dependent increase while transcripts of Figa and Fox12 showed a dose-dependent decrease in response to exposure to NET. For genes regulating the steroidogenesis, the expressions of Cyp11a1, Cyp17, Cyp19a1a, and Cyp11b were significantly down-regulated by exposure to NET, while Hsd17b3 expression was significantly up-regulated by exposure to NET at 421.3 and 892.9 ng L−1. For the receptor genes in the gonads, the transcriptional expression of Pgr, Ar, and Mr was significantly up-regulated at 421.3 and 892.9 ng L−1 of NET. For genes involved in the hypothalamic–pituitary axis, the transcriptional expression of Gnrh3 and Pomc was significantly up-regulated by exposure to NET with the exception for Gnrh3 at 4.2 ng L−1. The results demonstrated that exposure to NET at the juvenile stage could affect gonad differentiation and sex ratio, which might be accounted for by the alterations of the transcriptional expressions of genes along the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axes.