Hexachlorobenzene induces hyperplasia and alters mouse mammary branching morphogenesis through Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

MIRET NOELIA; RICO-LEO EVA; RICO-LEO EVA; PONTILLO C P; ZOTTA E; FERNÁNDEZ-SALGUERO PEDRO; RANDI ANDREA

Congreso; LXI Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica; 2016

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an environmental pollutant that weakly binds to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), being able to trigger AhR-dependent or -independent effects. Previous results showed a dose dependent effect of HCB in mouse mammary epithelial cells (NMuMG): 0.05 µM induced cell migration and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signaling, whereas 5 µM reduced cell migration, promoted cell cycle arrest, and stimulated AhR pathway. Our objective was to evaluate the HCB action in mammary gland from +/+AhR and -/-AhR C57BL/6N mice in vitro and in vivo. Because perturbations in mammary gland during puberty may enhance risk for later adverse effects, 4 weeks-old female mice were exposed to HCB (3 mg/kg body weight) for 21 days. Whole mount and immunohistochemistry results showed HCB to increase ductal hyperplasia (75% p