Long lasting effects of prenatal agrochemical exposure on caiman latirostris oviduct development and differentiation.

MÓNICA M. MUÑOZ-DE-TORO. ; YAMIL E. TAVALIERI; ENRIQUE H. LUQUE; GERMÁN H. GALOPPO; GUILLERMINA CANESINI

Congreso; Reunión Conjunta de Biociencias.; 2017

Humans and wildlife are daily exposed to contaminants whichhave the potential to interfere with their endocrine system by actingas endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). C. latirostris is a crocodilian species highly sensitive to EDC. Previously we showed that,early postnatal exposure to estrogen decreases luminal epithelialestrogen alpha receptor (ERα) expression and induces both androgen receptor (AR) luminal epithelial expression and histologicalchanges associated to gland development in pre-juvenile caimanoviduct. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of in ovoexposure to atrazine (ATZ) and endosulfan (END), agrochemicalsclassifed as EDC, on juvenile caiman oviducts. Eggs were topicatedwith vehicle (7), ATZ-0.2 ppm (5) or END-20 ppm (6) and incubatedat female-producing temperature until hatching. Animals were raisedunder controlled conditions and euthanized at juvenile (BM≥1kg).The oviducts were dissected, fxed, processed and paraffn embedded. Gland density (expressed as glands/40x feld) and percentageof subepithelium occupied by glands were recorded on PAS stainedsections. ERα and AR expressions on luminal and glandular epithelium were assessed by immunohistochemistry and expressedas percentage of immunostained nuclei. Results are presented asmean ± SEM. Mann Whitney test was performed and p< 0.05 wasaccepted as signifcant. Prenatal exposure to END increased glanddensity (18.28±1.0 vs 9.1±3.8 gland/feld) and subepithelial area occupied by glands (11.7±2.0 vs 2.9±1.1%), suggesting higher glandmorphogenesis. Indeed, decreased ERα expression (52.9±5.9 vs76.7±6.8%) was observed in END exposed caimans mimickingestrogen action. Exposure to ATZ reduced luminal epithelial ARexpression (58.6±0.5 vs 67.1±2.9%) unlike the effect observed after estrogen exposure. Prenatal exposure to ATZ and END inducechanges on oviductal development that last until juvenile and couldimpair C latirostris reproductive health.