Selection of reliable reference genes for qRT-PCR studies on cetacean fibroblast cultures exposed to OCs, PBDEs, and 17β-estradiol

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) represents an effective molecular technique for the detection of mRNA expression in biological samples. Its sensitivity allows the quantification of slight changes in the regulation of gene transcription but is strictly dependent upon the method followed during the normalization procedure. Relative quantification determines changes in the steady-state mRNA levels of genes across multiple samples and it is assessed by comparison with the levels of one or more internal control RNA. In this context, the choice of constitutively expressed control genes, whose transcription is not affected by the contaminants, appears to be fundamental for the reliability of this technique. During this study, fibroblast cell cultures originated from integumentum biopsies, sampled in the cetacean species Stenella coeruleoalba, have been exposed for 6 h to increasing concentrations of different mixtures of compounds with endocrine disruptor capacities (EDCs): organochlorines (OCs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 17β-estradiol. Ten common housekeeping genes have been tested for the expression of their transcripts in exposed cell cultures using qRT-PCR assays and raw data were analyzed with the two Excel applets geNorm and NormFinder. The genes encoding for SDHA, GAPDH and YWHAZ appear to be the most reliable controls, respectively, for the OC, PBDE and 17β-estradiol treatments. These results clearly show that the transcription of even widely diffused control genes can be regulated by different treatments and underlie the importance of a careful selection of the optimal housekeeping genes in toxicological studies.