Effects of perfluorooctanoic acid exposure during pregnancy on the reproduction and development of male offspring mice

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore the effects of maternal exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) on reproduction and development of male offspring mice. Pregnant mice were given 1, 2.5 or 5 mg/kg BW PFOA daily by gavage during gestation. The results showed that the survival number of offspring mice at weaning was significantly decreased. There were no differences in the testicular index of offspring mice between PFOA exposure groups and non-PFOA group. Maternal exposure to PFOA reduced the level of testosterone in the male offspring mice on PND 21 (p < 0.01) but increased in 1 mg/kg group and decreased in 2.5 and 5 mg/kg groups on PND 70 (p < 0.01). There were different degrees of damage to testis in a dose-dependent manner, and the number of Leydig cells markedly decreased (p < 0.01) in 2.5 and 5 mg/kg PFOA groups on PND 21 and PND 70. The expression of Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted gene cluster showed a decreasing trend, where Glt2, Rian and Dio3 gene expressions were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) on PND 21. Therefore, PFOA exposure during pregnancy reduces the number of survival offspring mice, damages testis, disrupts reproductive hormones and reduces the mRNA expressions of the Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted cluster in testis.

Gestational Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposure Inhibits Placental Development by Dysregulation of Labyrinth Vessels and uNK Cells and Apoptosis in Mice

“…In the present study, maternal exposure to PFOA markedly decreased placental weight and induced the interstitial edema of placental spongiotrophoblast, which probably resulted in fetal resorptions and growth retardation and compromised postnatal survival. Song et al 's studies showed that placental weight and the numbers of survival offspring mice were dramatically reduced in the PFOA-treated groups (Lau et al, 2006;Yahia et al, 2010;Song et al, 2018). This result was almost in accord with our current and previous research Chen et al, 2017).…”

“…Recently, PFOA has attracted more attentions for reproductive and developmental toxicities (Yahia et al, 2010;Das et al, 2015;Song et al, 2018). Experiments in vivo and in vitro showed that PFOA exposure reduced testosterone production through the down-regulation of steroid hormone related synthetase (Zhao et al, 2010a).…”

Application of the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens to Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

“…Similarly, PFOA-treated male mice exhibited dose-dependent reductions in testosterone and progesterone levels, reduced sperm quality, damaged seminiferous tubules and increased testicular oxidative stress at doses of 0.31 to 20 mg/kg/day [91,165]. Consistent findings were observed following in utero exposure to PFOA [166]. Male reproductive toxicity, including effects on hormone levels and fertility was observed in PFNA treated mice [98] and gestational exposure to GenX and PFHxS resulted in lower testis weight and a weak but significant association with nipple retention in males, respectively [167,168].…”

“…Animal Biosassay In Vitro PFOA Association: [153]; [154]; [155]; [156]; [157] Association: reviewed in [164]; [91]; [165]; [166]; [169]; [170]; [173]; [175]; [191]; [61] No association: [174] Association: [176]; [158]; [175]; [181]; [188]; [189]; [193]; [179]; [180] No association: [182] Long-chain PFAS a PFOS Association: [154]; [155]; [156]; [157]; [160]; reviwed in [163] No Association: [153] Association: [191]; [192] Association: [177]; [175]; [181]; [188]; [189]; [193]; [179]; [180] No association: [182] PFHxS Association: [159]; reviwed in [163] No association: [...…”

Effect of gestational exposure to perfluorononanoic acid on neonatal mice testes

“…Studies in laboratory animals have shown that PFAAs can cross the placental barrier and be transferred from mother to fetus (Das et al, ; Lai et al, ); therefore, the gestational exposure to these compounds can influence the developing fetus and produce diseases in later life. Gestational exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in rodents has been reported to interfere with reproductive hormones and alter testicular functions in male offspring (Lai et al, ; Song, Li, Wang, & Zhong, ). However, to the best of our knowledge, the effect of gestational exposure to PFNA on male reproductive health has not been investigated so far, despite evidence of its placental transfer from mother to the fetus.…”