Uterine glandular dysfunction in rats exposed to glyphosate or a glyphosate formulation: a possible mechanism of implantation failure

CADAVIZ, DALMA B.; LORENZ, VIRGINIA; PACINI, GUILLERMINA; VARAYOUD, JORGELINA; MILESI, MARÍA M.

online

Congreso; Reunión de Sociedades de Biociencias 2020, LXV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica (SAIC); 2020

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica (SAIC), Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología (SAI), Sociedad Argentina de Fisiología (SAFIS)

Glyphosate (Gly) is the active ingredient of multiple herbicide formulations known as glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs), which are the most globally used pesticides. We have shown that perinatal exposure to either Gly or GBH decreased the number of implanted embryos in female rats. Here, we investigated whether Gly or GBH exposure alter endometrial gland function as a possible mechanism responsible for implantation failures. Pregnant rats (F0) were exposed to Gly or a GBH through food, in a dose of 2 mg of glyphosate/kg/day, from gestational day (GD) 9 until weaning. F1 females were pregnant and uteri were sampled on GD5 (pre-implantation period) for morphological, immunohistochemical and mRNA analysis. Uterine sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin to analyze the following morphological features: luminal epithelial height, number of glands, and thickness of myometrium and subepithelial stroma. We also determined the expression of molecules that regulate uterine gland function and implantation such as, Forkhead box A2 (FOXA2) and b-catenin which were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif) that was assessed by qPCR. A lower number of uterine glands in Gly (**p