Jin Pengpeng, Wang Xiaoli, Chang Fei, Bai Yinyang, Li Yingchun, Zhou Rong, Chen Ling
State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China; ; Department of Physiology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China; ; Department of Physiology, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, China.
J Biomed Res. 2013 Mar;27(2):135-44. doi: 10.7555/JBR.27.20120076. Epub 2012 Dec 21.
Bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogenic chemical, has been shown to reduce sperm count; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, we show that oral administration of BPA (2 µg/kg) for consecutive 14 days in adult rats (BPA rats) significantly reduced the sperm count and the number of germ cells compared to controls. The serum levels of testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), as well as the level of GnRH mRNA in BPA rats were lower than those of control rats. Testosterone treatment could partially rescue the reduction of germ cells in BPA rats. Notably, the number of apoptotic germ cells was significantly increased in BPA rats, which was insensitive to testosterone. Furthermore, the levels of Fas, FasL and caspase-3 mRNA in the testicle of BPA rats were increased in comparison with controls. These results indicate that exposure to a low dose of BPA impairs spermatogenesis through decreasing reproductive hormones and activating the Fas/FasL signaling pathway.
双酚A（BPA）是一种具有雌激素活性的化学物质，已被证明会降低精子数量；然而，其潜在机制仍不清楚。在此，我们表明，成年大鼠连续14天口服BPA（2μg/kg）（BPA大鼠）与对照组相比，精子数量和生殖细胞数量显著降低。BPA大鼠的血清睾酮和促卵泡激素（FSH）水平以及GnRH mRNA水平均低于对照大鼠。睾酮治疗可部分挽救BPA大鼠生殖细胞的减少。值得注意的是，BPA大鼠中凋亡生殖细胞的数量显著增加，且对睾酮不敏感。此外，与对照组相比，BPA大鼠睾丸中Fas、FasL和caspase-3 mRNA的水平升高。这些结果表明，低剂量BPA暴露通过降低生殖激素和激活Fas/FasL信号通路损害精子发生。
