Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Preventive Medicine Experimental Teaching Centre, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Endokrynol Pol. 2022;73(2):346-352. doi: 10.5603/EP.a2022.0025.
The effects of ethephon on the reproductive systems of mammalian females are still ambiguous. This study was conducted to evaluate the toxic effects of ethephon on the female reproductive system.
Forty female C57 mice were used as experimental subjects and evenly divided into 8 groups, which were fed with mixed ethephon (0, 107.3, 214.5, and 429 mg/kg bw/day) and pure water. After 20 and 40 days of gavage, the mice were weighed and individual organ coefficients of the ovaries were measured. Enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to detect the serum levels of serum sex hormones. The cell cycle distribution and rate of apoptosis of mouse ovarian tissues were examined using flow cytometry.
Ethephon intoxication significantly decreased serum levels of progesterone (P) and oestradiol (E2) and increased the serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH). The serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) decreased and then increased over time. In addition, ethephon significantly inhibited the apoptosis rate in the ovary and caused G0/G1 and G2/M arrest.
These results indicate that prolonged exposure to ethephon may have negative effects on the female reproductive system.
乙烯利对哺乳动物雌性生殖系统的影响仍不明确。本研究旨在评估乙烯利对雌性生殖系统的毒性作用。
将 40 只雌性 C57 小鼠作为实验对象，平均分为 8 组，分别灌胃混合乙烯利（0、107.3、214.5 和 429mg/kg bw/天）和纯水。灌胃 20 和 40 天后，测量小鼠体重和卵巢器官系数。采用酶联免疫吸附试验检测血清性激素水平。采用流式细胞术检测小鼠卵巢组织的细胞周期分布和凋亡率。
乙烯利中毒显著降低了血清孕激素（P）和雌二醇（E2）水平，增加了血清促黄体生成素（LH）水平。血清促卵泡激素（FSH）水平先降低后升高。此外，乙烯利显著抑制了卵巢细胞凋亡率，导致 G0/G1 和 G2/M 期阻滞。
这些结果表明，长期接触乙烯利可能对女性生殖系统产生负面影响。
