Table_2_In utero Exposure to Atrazine Disrupts Rat Fetal Testis Development.doc

Atrazine (ATR) is a commonly used agricultural herbicide and a potential endocrine disruptor that may cause testicular dysgenesis. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of atrazine on fetal testis development after in utero exposure. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged daily with vehicle (corn oil, control) or atrazine (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg body weight/day) from gestational day 12 to 21. Atrazine dose-dependently decreased serum testosterone levels of male pups, with a significant difference from the control recorded at a dose of 100 mg/kg. In addition, atrazine significantly increased fetal Leydig cell aggregation at a dose of 100 mg/kg. Atrazine increased fetal Leydig cell number but not Sertoli cell number. However, atrazine down-regulated Scarb1 and Cyp17a1 in the fetal Leydig cell per se and Hsd17b3 and Dhh in the Sertoli cell per se. These results demonstrated that in utero exposure to atrazine disrupted rat fetal testis development.

莠去津（Atrazine, ATR）是一种常用农用除草剂，同时也是一种潜在内分泌干扰物，可引发睾丸发育不全。本研究旨在探究宫内暴露于莠去津后，其对大鼠胎鼠睾丸发育的影响。实验选取雌性斯普拉-道来氏（Sprague-Dawley）大鼠，自妊娠第12天至第21天，每日经口灌服赋形剂（玉米油，作为对照组）或不同剂量的莠去津（25、50及100 mg/kg体重/日）。结果表明，莠去津可剂量依赖性降低雄性仔鼠的血清睾酮水平，其中100 mg/kg剂量组与对照组相比差异具有统计学意义。此外，100 mg/kg剂量的莠去津可显著诱导胎鼠睾丸间质细胞聚集。莠去津可增加胎鼠睾丸间质细胞的数量，但对支持细胞数量无显著影响。然而，莠去津可分别下调胎鼠睾丸间质细胞内Scarb1与Cyp17a1的基因表达，以及支持细胞内Hsd17b3与Dhh的基因表达。上述结果证实，宫内暴露于莠去津可干扰大鼠胎鼠的睾丸发育。