EARLY POSTNATAL EXPOSURE TO BPA ALTERS ANDROGEN RECEPTOR EXPRESSION IN THE BROAD-SNOUTED CAIMAN (Caiman latirostris) OVIDUCT.

TAVALIERI YE; MUÑOZ DE TORO M; GALOPPO GH; LUQUE EH; CANESINI G

Buenos Aires

Jornada; XVIII Jornadas Anuales Multidisciplinarias Sociedad Argentina de Biología; 2016

Sociedad Argentina de Biología

The female reproductive tract, named oviduct in oviparous species, is target of endogenous steroid sex hormones and hormonally active pollutants. Androgens are thought to play a direct role in oviduct growth, differentiation, and secretory functions and sperm storage through receptor binding. The aims of this study were to establish androgen receptor (AR) dynamics in Caiman latirostris oviduct from neonatal to pre-pubertal juvenile and its responsiveness to early post-natal xenoestrogen exposure. C. latirostris females raised in control conditions were euthanized at neonatal, early and late postnatal or juvenile stages. Early postnatal were injected (sc) twice, 7 days apart, with 17-beta estradiol (E2) (0.014 or 1.4ppm) or BPA (1.4 or 140 ppm) and euthanized 7 days after last injection. Immunohistochemical localization of AR was performed on oviduct sections using a polyclonal Ab. Cytoplasmic AR expression characterized the earliest developmental stages. Sustained increase in nuclear AR as developmental stages advanced was observed. Nuclear epithelial AR significantly increased at the juvenile stage. Early postnatal exposure to the lowest dose of E2 or BPA up regulated nuclear AR to juvenile levels. These results demonstrate that the early post-natal caiman oviduct is labile to xenoestrogen exposure suggesting precocious development and differentiation that could impair oviduct physiology later in life.