Pre- and Postnatal Dietary Exposure to a Pesticide Cocktail Disrupts Ovarian Functions in 8-Week-Old Female Mice

Abstract

Female infertility has a multifactorial origin, and exposure to contaminants, including pesticides, with endocrine-disrupting properties is considered to be involved in this reproductive disorder, especially when it occurs during early life. Pesticides are present in various facets of the environment, and consumers are exposed to a combination of multiple pesticide residues through food intake. The consequences of such exposure with respect to female fertility are not well known. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of pre- and postnatal dietary exposure to a pesticide mixture on folliculogenesis, a crucial process in female reproduction. Mice were exposed to the acceptable daily intake levels of six pesticides in a mixture (boscalid, captan, chlorpyrifos, thiacloprid, thiophanate and ziram) from foetal development until 8 weeks old. Female offspring presented with decreased body weight at weaning, which was maintained at 8 weeks old. This was accompanied by an abnormal ovarian ultrastructure, a drastic decrease in the number of corpora lutea and progesterone levels and an increase in ovary cell proliferation. In conclusion, this study shows that this pesticide mixture that can be commonly found in fruits in Europe, causing endocrine disruption in female mice with pre- and postnatal exposure by disturbing folliculogenesis, mainly in the luteinisation process.

Folliculogenesis and steroidogenesis alterations after chronic exposure to a human-relevant mixture of environmental toxicants spare the ovarian reserve in the rabbit model

“…Alterations in the primordial follicle stock can induce premature ovarian insufficiency during female life, with significant consequences for women’s reproductive health and quality of life [ 52 ]. Our data are consistent with a previous study by our team on the ovarian effects of a mixture of pesticides at low doses using a mouse model [ 15 ]. Any discrepancies with other studies in the scientific literature are probably linked to the use of high doses.…”

“…In this way, follicles were counted across the entire section from the left up to the right down. Each follicle was staged as primordial, primary, secondary or antral as previously described [ 15 ]. Atretic follicles were counted among secondary and antral follicles according to the criteria of Grzesiak et al [ 47 ] with minor modifications i.e.…”

“…In fact, the additivity of chemical effects cannot be assumed because interactions can occur within a mixture. Few in vivo reproductive toxicity studies have investigated mixtures of chemicals, most of which have focused on chemicals from the same families, such as phthalates [ 9 – 11 ], brominated flame retardants [ 12 – 14 ], pesticides [ 15 , 16 ] or fertilizers [ 17 , 18 ]. They confirm the threat of mixtures exposure for the ovary on different levels (see exhaustive review [ 19 ]) but additional studies need to be performed on mixtures combining compounds from different chemical families.…”