The commonly used imidazole fungicide prochloraz was tested for antiandrogenic effects in vitro and in vivo. Prochloraz, but not the metabolites 2,4,6-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid or 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, inhibited the R1881-induced response in an androgen receptor reporter gene assay. In the Hershberger assay, prochloraz exposure at all dose levels (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) given orally to castrated testosterone (T)-treated males markedly reduced weights of ventral prostate, seminal vesicles, musc. levator ani/bulbocavernosus, and bulbourethral gland. These effects were accompanied by an increase in LH and a reduction of the T(4) and TSH level. The effects on seminal vesicles, LH, T(4), and TSH were also evident in intact prochloraz-exposed young adult rats. Body weights were unaffected whereas liver weights were increased in prochloraz-treated animals. Changes in androgen-regulated gene expression were determined in ventral prostates by real-time RT-PCR. A pronounced decrease of ornithin decarboxylase and PBP C3 mRNA levels was observed for both prochloraz and flutamide. These results indicate that prochloraz antagonizes the peripheral androgen receptors resulting in decreased growth of androgen-dependent tissues and that it antagonizes central androgen receptors blocking the negative feed-back mechanism of testosterone resulting in increased LH secretion from the pituitary. The antiandrogenic effects of prochloraz were in many ways qualitatively comparable, although weaker, to the effects of flutamide. However, differential effects on levels of FSH, T(4), and TSH indicate that other modes of action apart from the pure AR antagonism might play a role in vivo.

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26Breastfeeding profoundly shapes the infant gut microbiota, which is critical for early life immune 27 development. However, few breastmilk-dependent microbial metabolites mediating host-microbiota 28 interactions are currently known. We here demonstrate that breastmilk-promoted Bifidobacterium 29 species convert aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine) into their respective 30 aromatic lactic acids (indolelactate, phenyllactate and 4-hydroxyphenyllactate) via a previously 31 unrecognised aromatic lactate dehydrogenase. By longitudinal profiling of the gut microbiota 32 composition and metabolome of stool samples of infants obtained from birth until 6 months of age, 33 we show that stool concentrations of aromatic lactic acids is determined by the abundance of human 34 milk oligosaccharide degrading Bifidobacterium species containing the aromatic lactate 35 dehydrogenase. Finally, we demonstrate that stool concentrations of Bifidobacterium-derived 36 indolelactate are associated with the capacity of infant stool samples to activate the aryl 37 hydrocarbon receptor, a receptor important for maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and immune 38 system development. These findings open up new directions towards understanding the role of 39 breastmilk-promoted Bifidobacterium in mediating host-microbiota interactions in early life. 40 INTRODUCTION 41Human breastmilk is a perfectly adapted nutritional supply for the infant 1 . Breastfeeding provides 42 children with important short-term protection against infections, and may also provide long-term 43 metabolic benefits 1,2 . These benefits may partly be mediated through the gut microbiota, since 44 breastfeeding is the strongest determinant of gut microbiota composition and function during 45 infancy 3-5 . Human breastmilk contains human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which are complex, 46 highly abundant sugars serving as substrates for specific microbes including certain species of 47 Bifidobacterium 6 . This co-evolution between bifidobacteria and the host, mediated by HMOs, to a 48 large extent directs the colonization of the gut in early life, which has critical impact on the immune 49 system 7 . Depletion of specific microbes, including Bifidobacterium, in early life has been associated 50 with increased risk of allergy and asthma development in childhood 8,9 , and is suggested to 51 compromise immune function and lead to increased susceptibility to infectious disease 10,11 . Despite 52 Bifidobacterium dominating the gut of breastfed infants and being widely acknowledged as 53 beneficial, mechanistic insights on the contribution of these bacteria and their metabolites to 54 immune development during infancy remain limited. Recent studies show that microbial aromatic 55 amino acid metabolites including tryptophan-derived indoles 12 , via activation of the aryl 56 hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), can fortify the intestinal barrier 13,14 , protect against pathogenic 57 infections 15,16 and influence host metabolism 13,17,18 , which makes this...

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The combination effects of the well-known antiandrogenic fungicides, vinclozolin and procymidone, were tested both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro both vinclozolin and procymidone significantly inhibited the binding of agonist to the androgen receptor with the concentration that resulted in 50% inhibition (IC(50)) values of 0.1 and 0.6 micro M, respectively. By applying the isobole method, the effect of combining the two pesticides in vitro was found to be additive. In castrated testosterone-treated rats the administration of vinclozolin starting at 10 mg/kg led to a decrease in organ weight of all tested reproductive organs. The levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were increased significantly with doses of 100 mg/kg vinclozolin and above. Expression of the androgen-responsive gene, TRPM-2, was increased starting at 100 mg/kg vinclozolin. For procymidone, reproductive organ weights were diminished at 10 mg/kg and LH was increased at a concentration of 25 mg/kg and above, compared to the testosterone-treated controls. FSH was significantly increased only at 25 mg/kg procymidone. The studied gene expressions were changed by 100 mg/kg procymidone. Dosing the animals with a combination of a 1:1 mixture of vinclozolin and procymidone resulted in a weight reduction in the reproductive organs and an increase of serum LH and FSH as early as with 10 mg/kg combined dose. The relative expressions of TRPM-2 and PBP C3 were changed compared to controls at 100 mg/kg. The level of 5-HT in the rat brain was increased after a dose of 10 mg/kg. Using the isobole method, comparisons of the observed and predicted effects assuming additivity on reproductive organ weights, hormone levels, and gene expression showed agreement and thus the combination effects are suggested to be additive in vivo as well as in vitro.