AUTHOR=Fang Yinghui , Ni Chaobo , Dong Yaoyao , Li Huitao , Wu Siwen , Li Xiaoheng , Lv Yao , Huang Tongliang , Lian Qingquan , Ge Ren-shan 

TITLE=In utero Exposure to Atrazine Disrupts Rat Fetal Testis Development

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.01391

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2018.01391

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>Atrazine (ATR) is a commonly used agricultural herbicide and a potential endocrine disruptor that may cause testicular dysgenesis. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of atrazine on fetal testis development after <italic>in utero</italic> exposure. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged daily with vehicle (corn oil, control) or atrazine (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg body weight/day) from gestational day 12 to 21. Atrazine dose-dependently decreased serum testosterone levels of male pups, with a significant difference from the control recorded at a dose of 100 mg/kg. In addition, atrazine significantly increased fetal Leydig cell aggregation at a dose of 100 mg/kg. Atrazine increased fetal Leydig cell number but not Sertoli cell number. However, atrazine down-regulated <italic>Scarb1</italic> and <italic>Cyp17a1</italic> in the fetal Leydig cell <italic>per se</italic> and <italic>Hsd17b3</italic> and <italic>Dhh</italic> in the Sertoli cell <italic>per se</italic>. These results demonstrated that <italic>in utero</italic> exposure to atrazine disrupted rat fetal testis development.</p>