2D DIGE, label free quantification, principal component and mass spectrometry analysis for biomarkers discovery in MCF-7/BOS cells exposed to 17β-estradiol and endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine system disruption has become a subject of great interest over the last few decades, since it has become
evident that natural and also synthetic substances can mimic or reduce the activity of endogenous hormones.
Compounds with estrogenic activity are an important family of potential endocrine disruptors that have to be
monitored either in the food chain or in the environment. Estrogens are known to induce or promote hormonal
dependent cancers, to reduce sperm counts and fertility in men and generate the feminization of exposed wildlife
populations.
The rapid screening of unwanted chemicals in the food chain is beset by difficulties. The number of toxic compounds
is very large and no universal method can cope with their diversity.
In this work, emergent differential proteomic techniques are used to discover a set of biomarkers for the development
of a multiple estrogen contaminants screening test.