Timing of Maternal Exposure and Foetal Sex Determine the Effects of Low-level Chemical Mixture Exposure on the Foetal Neuroendocrine System in Sheep.

ABSTRACT: We have shown that continuous maternal exposure to the complex mixture of environmental chemicals (ECs) found in human biosolids (sewage sludge), disrupts mRNA expression of genes crucial for development and long-term regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal (HPG) function in sheep. The present study investigated whether exposure to ECs only during preconceptional period or only during pregnancy perturbed key regulatory genes within the hypothalamus and pituitary gland and whether these effects were different from chronic (life-long) exposure to biosolid ECs. The findings demonstrate that the timing and duration of maternal EC exposure influences the subsequent effects on the foetal neuroendocrine system in a sex-specific manner. Maternal exposure prior to conception, or during pregnan

SUBMITTER: Bellingham M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5621486 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature