| 20045047 |
Victor-Costa AB, Bandeira SM, Oliveira AG, Mahecha GA, Oliveira CA: Changes in testicular morphology and steroidogenesis in adult rats exposed to Atrazine. Reprod Toxicol. 2010 Jan 4.
Atrazine is an herbicide considered as a potent endocrine disruptor, causing adverse effects on both gender of mammalian and non-mammalian species. Despite the known adverse effects of Atrazine, little is known about its action on male genital system, especially in adults. We evaluated the effects of Atrazine (50mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 300mg/kg) in the 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) expression, plasmatic and testicular estrogen and testosterone levels, androgen receptor expression and morphological changes in adult rat testes. Atrazine at doses higher than 50mg/kg resulted in decreased body weight, increased adrenal weight and transient increase in testis weight, followed by testis atrophy. A reduction in testosterone but increase in estradiol levels was observed. We showed for the first time that testicular 3beta-HSD protein was decreased, whereas in the adrenal it was unchanged. The results suggest that 3beta-HSD inhibition may represent an alternative mechanism through which Atrazine affects the testicular androgenesis, leading to changes in spermatogenesis. |
6(0,0,1,1) |