Ultrastructural Mechanisms of Impaired Aldosterone Synthesis in Rats Exposed to DDT during Prenatal and Postnatal Development.

The study is aimed at elucidation of ultrastructural mechanisms underlying impaired aldosterone synthesis by glomerulosa cells in Wistar rats exposed to low doses of endocrine disrupter DDT during prenatal and postnatal development. Analysis of rat zona glomerulosa histology and function during the pubertal and postpubertal periods showed that exposure to endocrine disrupter DDT disturbs its development and reduced the production of aldosterone. Electron microscopy showed that changes in the aldosterone synthesis are related to impaired reorganization of the mitochondrial apparatus, one of the leading factors in the regulation of steroidogenesis, in glomerulosa cells in DDT-exposed rats during puberty.