Leso V, Fontana L, Marinaccio A, Leopold K, Fanali C, Lucchetti D, Sgambato A, Iavicoli I
1 Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
2 Institute of Public Health, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
Hum Exp Toxicol. 2018 Oct;37(10):1069-1079. doi: 10.1177/0960327118756722. Epub 2018 Feb 6.
The widespread industrial application of nanomaterials (NMs) has dramatically increased the likelihood of environmental and occupational exposure of humans to such xenobiotics. This issue, together with the increasing public health interest in understanding the effects of chemicals on endocrine system, encouraged to investigate the disruptive potential of NMs on the endocrine function. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) on the female reproductive system of Wistar rats, intravenously exposed to different doses (0.12, 1.2, and 12 µg/kg), through the assessment of possible quantitative changes in the serum concentrations of several sex hormones. Our results demonstrated that the highest exposure doses significantly reduced the estradiol and testosterone concentrations, while increased the luteinizing hormone levels in treated animals compared to controls. Such alterations are indicative for an abnormal reproductive axis function. However, further investigations are needed to clarify the role of the different NP physicochemical properties in determining such effects, and possible underlining molecular mechanisms, as well as their relevance for the development of diseases in the female reproductive system. Overall, this may be helpful to define accurate risk assessment and management strategies to protect the health of the general and occupational populations exposed to Pd-NPs.
纳米材料（NMs）在工业上的广泛应用显著增加了人类在环境和职业环境中接触此类异生物质的可能性。这个问题，再加上公众对了解化学物质对内分泌系统影响的健康关注度不断提高，促使人们去研究纳米材料对内分泌功能的破坏潜力。因此，本研究的目的是通过评估几种性激素血清浓度可能的定量变化，来评价静脉注射不同剂量（0.12、1.2和12微克/千克）钯纳米颗粒（Pd-NPs）对Wistar大鼠雌性生殖系统的影响。我们的结果表明，与对照组相比，最高暴露剂量显著降低了受试动物的雌二醇和睾酮浓度，同时提高了促黄体生成素水平。这些改变表明生殖轴功能异常。然而，需要进一步研究来阐明不同纳米颗粒物理化学性质在确定此类影响中的作用、可能的潜在分子机制，以及它们与雌性生殖系统疾病发展的相关性。总体而言，这可能有助于确定准确的风险评估和管理策略，以保护接触Pd-NPs的普通人群和职业人群的健康。
