Effects of intrauterine and puberal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals on the old gerbils prostate

Abstract

The prostate is a gland that belongs exclusively to male mammals, can be found in female rodents and also in many women. Its development occurs under the influence of androgenic and estrogenic control a well regulated and precise, so that sensitive interference that may predispose the gland to develop diseases such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and cancer during life senile. Allied to this, a large number of studies have indicated that the predisposition to prostate disorders has its origin in the early stages of life, and the signaling pathways of ER and AR more sensitive to hormonal imbalance. These aspects are of great interest and concern, given that an increasing number of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to which humans are exposed. The EDCs have the potential to compete for the androgen receptors present in prostate tissue and can activate cascades of events leading to expression of specific genes or even cause epigenetic changes in DNA. This interference, more harmful during critical periods of development may lead to imprint the prostate cells irreversibly. Therefore, to understand what are the mechanisms that may contribute to the predisposition to develop lesions of this gland throughout life is extremely important, so that these findings may help in the search for new treatments for prostate diseases. The objective is to evaluate the prostate gland of males and females senile Mongolian gerbil who were exposed to testosterone and ethinyl estradiol in intrauterine life and at puberty. For this, the prostates of these animals will be subjected to morphometric-stereological analysis, serological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural. From the results obtained, possible mechanisms involved with the imprint of the prostate gland may be elucidated, making possible the understanding of these mechanisms with the development of prostate disease during senescence. (AU)