BP-3 exposure alters ovarian reserve by altering the expression of Foxl2 in rat ovarian culture

ENRIQUE H. LUQUE.; JULIAN E. ABUD; HORACIO RODRÍGUEZ; CLARISA G. SANTAMARÍA

Taller; Interdisciplinary Autumn School for Reproductive Sciences and related Research Fields; 2017

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is widely used in sunscreens and many otherconsumer products, including cosmetics. In humans, BP-3 has been detected inurine, serum, and breast milk samples worldwide (1). Several in vitro studieshave indicated the endocrine disrupting capacity of BP-3 (2; 3). It is widelystudied that the ovary is targeted by the action of endocrine disrupters (4). Thepool of primordial follicles, which is the stockpile of oocytes for the entirefemale reproductive life, is established during a few days after birth: theoocyte nests are coordinately intercalated by somatic cells (nest-breakdown)and in this way are fragmented into single primordial follicles (follicularassembly) (5). The forkhead transcription factor (FOXL2) is an essentialtranscription factor in the ovary that plays a critical role in ovarian function, inparticular, proliferation and differentiation of granulosa cells (6). Our goal wasto study the effect of BP-3 in the follicular assembly and the potentialinvolvement of Foxl2 using whole ovary cultures.