Exposure to a complex cocktail of environmental endocrine-disrupting compounds disturbs the kisspeptin/GPR54 system in ovine hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ubiquitous environmental chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are associated with declining human reproductive health, as well as an increasing incidence of cancers of the reproductive system. Verifying such links requires animal models exposed to "real-life," environmentally relevant concentrations/mixtures of EDC, particularly in utero, when sensitivity to EDC exposure is maximal.

Objectives

We evaluated the effects of maternal exposure to a pollutant cocktail (sewage sludge) on the ovine fetal reproductive neuroendocrine axes, particularly the kisspeptin (KiSS-1)/GPR54 (G-protein-coupled receptor 54) system.

Methods

KiSS-1, GPR54, and ERalpha (estrogen receptor alpha) mRNA expression was quantified in control (C) and treated (T) ma

SUBMITTER: Bellingham M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2790510 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature