1Department of Endocrinology, Dr ALM Post Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Madras, Taramani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Reprod Sci. 2014 Jan;21(1):89-101. doi: 10.1177/1933719113492213. Epub 2013 Jun 7.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the androgen (AR) and estrogen receptors' (ER) expression in epididymis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-exposed rats. The rats were assigned to groups. Group I controls were treated with corn oil 80 µL/d intraperitoneally (ip), group II were treated with 2 mg/kg/d of A1254 ip; and group III were treated with 2 mg/kg/d of A1254 ip along with simultaneous oral supplementation of 4 mg/kg/d lycopene . The treatment was given daily for 30 days. After 24 hours of treatment, the rats were killed, and the epididymal regions (caput, corpus, and cauda) were dissected out, weighed, and prepared to estimate the levels of sialic acid, glyceryl phosphoryl choline (GPC), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and lipid peroxidation (LPO). The messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of AR, ERα, and ERβ were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and ERα and ERβ protein expressions were analyzed by immunoblotting. The toxicity of PCBs was also confirmed by histology. There was a marked decrease in epididymal weight, sialic acid, and GPC levels, while oxidative stress markers H2O2 and LPO were increased in PCBs-treated rats. The mRNA and protein expression of AR, ERα, and ERβ were decreased in PCBs-treated groups, and the histology confirms the cytoplasmic damage in the regions of caput, corpus, and cauda in PCBs-treated rats. Simultaneous supplementation of lycopene to PCBs-exposed rats resulted in significant decrease in the oxidative stress markers as that of control, while the AR, ERα, and ERβ gene expressions were near to control. The results suggest that lycopene has ameliorative effect against PCBs-induced toxicity in epididymis.
本研究旨在评估多氯联苯（PCBs）暴露大鼠附睾中雄激素（AR）和雌激素受体（ER）的表达。将大鼠分为三组。对照组 I 大鼠腹腔内（ip）给予 80µL/d 玉米油，对照组 II 大鼠 ip 给予 2mg/kg/d A1254，实验组 III 大鼠 ip 给予 2mg/kg/d A1254 并同时口服补充 4mg/kg/d 番茄红素。每日处理 30 天。处理 24 小时后，处死大鼠，取出附睾（头、体、尾），称重，准备检测唾液酸、甘油磷酸胆碱（GPC）、过氧化氢（H2O2）和脂质过氧化（LPO）水平。采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析 AR、ERα 和 ERβ 的信使 RNA（mRNA）表达，采用免疫印迹法分析 ERα 和 ERβ 蛋白表达。还通过组织学确认 PCBs 的毒性。与对照组相比，PCBs 处理组附睾重量、唾液酸和 GPC 水平显著降低，氧化应激标志物 H2O2 和 LPO 升高。AR、ERα 和 ERβ 的 mRNA 和蛋白表达在 PCBs 处理组中降低，组织学证实 PCBs 处理大鼠的头、体和尾区细胞质受损。番茄红素同时补充到 PCBs 暴露的大鼠中，可显著降低氧化应激标志物，与对照组接近，而 AR、ERα 和 ERβ 基因表达则接近对照组。结果表明，番茄红素对 PCBs 诱导的附睾毒性具有改善作用。
