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Cassiani AG, Aloia TPA, Sousa-Vidal ÉK, Podgaec S, Piccinato CDA, Serrano-Nascimento C. Prenatal exposure to nitrate alters uterine morphology and gene expression in adult female F1 generation rats. ARCHIVES OF ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM 2024; 68:e240085. [PMID: 39876961 PMCID: PMC11771761 DOI: 10.20945/2359-4292-2024-0085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2025]
Abstract
Objective Nitrate is ubiquitously found in the environment and is one of the main components of nitrogen fertilizers. Previous studies have shown that nitrate disrupts the reproductive system in aquatic animals, but no study has evaluated the impact of nitrate exposure on the uterus in mammals. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of maternal exposure to nitrate during the prenatal period on uterine morphology and gene expression in adult female F1 rats. Materials and methods Pregnant Wistar rats were either treated with sodium nitrate 20 mg/L or 50 mg/L dissolved in drinking water from the first day of pregnancy until the birth of the offspring or were left untreated. On postnatal day 90, the uteri of female offspring rats were collected for histological and gene expression analyses. Morphometric analyses of the uterine photomicrographs were performed to determine the thickness of the layers of the uterine wall (endometrium, myometrium, and perimetrium) and the number of endometrial glands. Results The highest nitrate dose increased the myometrial thickness of the exposed female rats. Treatment with both nitrate doses reduced the number of endometrial glands compared with no treatment. Additionally, nitrate treatment significantly increased the expression of estrogen receptors and reduced the expression of progesterone receptors in the uterus. Conclusion Our results strongly suggest that prenatal exposure to nitrate programs gene expression and alters the uterine morphology in female F1 rats, potentially increasing their susceptibility to developing uterine diseases during adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Gilberto Cassiani
- Hospital Israelita Albert EinsteinSão PauloSPBrasilHospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | | | - Érica Kássia Sousa-Vidal
- Hospital Israelita Albert EinsteinSão PauloSPBrasilHospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Sérgio Podgaec
- Hospital Israelita Albert EinsteinSão PauloSPBrasilHospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Carla de Azevedo Piccinato
- Hospital Israelita Albert EinsteinSão PauloSPBrasilHospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
- Universidade de São PauloFaculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão PretoDepartamento de Ginecologia e ObstetríciaRibeirão PretoSPBrasilDepartamento de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
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Ebdrup NH, Knudsen UB, Schullehner J, Arendt LH, Liew Z, Lyngsø J, Bay B, Clemmensen PJ, Sigsgaard T, Hansen B, Ramlau-Hansen CH. Nitrate in Drinking Water and Time to Pregnancy or Medically Assisted Reproduction in Women and Men: A Nationwide Cohort Study in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Clin Epidemiol 2022; 14:475-487. [PMID: 35444467 PMCID: PMC9014114 DOI: 10.2147/clep.s354926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose No studies have investigated if drinking water nitrate affects human fecundity. Experimental studies point at detrimental effects on fetal development and on female and male reproduction. This cohort study aimed to explore if female and male preconception and long-term exposure to nitrate in drinking water was associated with fecundability measured as time to pregnancy (TTP) or use of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment. Methods The study population consisted of pregnant women recruited in their first trimester in 1996–2002 to the Danish National Birth Cohort. Preconception drinking-water nitrate exposure was estimated for the pregnant women (89,109 pregnancies), and long-term drinking water nitrate exposure was estimated from adolescence to conception for the pregnant women (77,474 pregnancies) and their male partners (62,000 pregnancies) by linkage to the national drinking water quality-monitoring database Jupiter. Difference in risk of TTP >12 months or use of MAR treatment between five exposure categories and log-transformed continuous models of preconception and long-term nitrate in drinking water were estimated. Binominal regression models for risk ratios (RR) were adjusted for age, occupation, education, population density, and lifestyle factors. Results Nitrate in drinking water (median preconception exposure: 1.9 mg/L; median long-term exposure: 3.3 mg/L) was not associated with TTP >12 months or use of MAR treatment, neither in the categorical nor in the continuous models. Conclusion We found no association between preconception or long-term exposure to drinking water nitrate and fecundability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ninna Hinchely Ebdrup
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Horsens Regional Hospital, Horsens, Denmark
- Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Correspondence: Ninna Hinchely Ebdrup, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Horsens Regional Hospital, Regionshospitalet Horsens, Sundvej 30, Horsens, 8700, Denmark, Tel +4528472111, Email
| | - Ulla Breth Knudsen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Horsens Regional Hospital, Horsens, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jörg Schullehner
- Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Linn Håkonsen Arendt
- Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Zeyan Liew
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Center for Perinatal, Pediatric, and Environmental Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Julie Lyngsø
- Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Bjørn Bay
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Horsens Regional Hospital, Horsens, Denmark
- Maigaard Fertility Clinic, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Torben Sigsgaard
- Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Centre for Integrated Register-based Research at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Danish Big Data Centre for Environment and Health (BERTHA), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Effect of low-dose sodium nitrite treatment on the endogenous antioxidant capacity of yak meat during wet curing: Pros and cons. Lebensm Wiss Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2021.110879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Martínez-Gómez C, Valdehita A, Vethaak AD, Navas JM, León VM. Toxicity characterization of surface sediments from a Mediterranean coastal lagoon. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 253:126710. [PMID: 32464757 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The occurrence of bioactive compounds and contaminant-associated effects was assessed by means of in vivo and in vitro assays using different extractable fractions of surface sediments from a contaminated coastal lagoon (Mar Menor, SE Spain). Sediment elutriates and clean seawater, previously exposed to whole sediment, were used for assessing the in vivo toxicity on embryo development of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Agonist and antagonist activities relating to estrogen and androgen receptors and agonist activities on aryl hydrocarbon receptor (expressed as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activities) were investigated in sediment extracts by using HER-Luc, AR-EcoScreenTM and fibroblast-like RTG-2 cell lines. Embryotoxicity effects were greater for sediment elutriates than those incubated in sediment-water interphase, implying that diffusion of bioactive chemicals can occur from sediments to sea water column, favoured by sediment disturbance events. In vitro results show the occurrence in extracts of compounds with estrogen antagonism, androgen antagonism and dioxin-like activities. Multidimensional scaling analysis classified the sampling sites into four sub-clusters according to their chemical-physical and biological similarities, relating in vitro bioactivity with the total organic carbon and known organic chemical load, with particular reference to total sum of PAHs, PCB 180, p,p-DDE and terbuthylazine. Overall, results pointed to the presence of unknown or unanalyzed biologically-active compounds in the sediments, mostly associated with the extracted polar fraction of the Mar Menor lagoon sediments. Our findings provide relevant information to be considered for the environmental management of contaminated coastal lagoons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Concepción Martínez-Gómez
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Apdo. 22, C/ Varadero 1, 30740, San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Ana Valdehita
- INIA - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria Ctra. de A Coruña, km 7.5, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
| | - A Dick Vethaak
- Deltares, Department of Marine and Coastal Systems, P.O. Box 177, 2600, MH, Delft, the Netherlands.
| | - José María Navas
- INIA - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria Ctra. de A Coruña, km 7.5, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Víctor Manuel León
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Apdo. 22, C/ Varadero 1, 30740, San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain.
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Edwards TM, Hamlin HJ. Reproductive endocrinology of environmental nitrate. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2018; 265:31-40. [PMID: 29577898 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Nitrate is a widespread contaminant of aquatic ecosystems and drinking water. It is also broadly active in organismal physiology, and as such, has the potential to both enhance and disrupt normal physiological function. In animals, nitrate is a proposed endocrine disrupter that is converted in vivo to nitrite and nitric oxide. Nitric oxide, in particular, is a potent cell signaling molecule that participates in diverse biological pathways and events. Here, we review in vivo nitrate cycling and downstream mechanistic physiology, with an emphasis on reproductive outcomes. However, in many cases, the research produces contradictory results, in part because there is good evidence that nitrate follows a non-monotonic dose-response curve. This conundrum highlights an array of opportunities for scientists from different fields to collaborate for a full understanding of nitrate physiology. Opposing conclusions are especially likely when in vivo/in vitro, long term/short term, high dose/low dose, or hypoxia/normoxia studies are compared. We conclude that in vivo studies are most appropriate for testing an organism's integrated endocrine response to nitrate. Based on the limited available studies, there is a generalized trend that shorter term studies (less than 1 month) or studies involving low doses (≤5 mg/L NO3-N) cause steroid hormone levels to decline. Studies that last more than a month and/or involve higher, but still environmentally relevant, exposures (>50-100 mg/L NO3-N) cause steroid hormone levels to increase. Very high nitrate doses (>500 mg/L NO3-N) are cytotoxic in many species. Hypoxia and acidity are likely to intensify the effects of nitrate. For study design, degree of study animal reproductive maturity or activity is important, with immature/reproductively quiescent animals responding to nitrate differently, compared with reproductively active animals. A detailed table of studies is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thea M Edwards
- Department of Biology, University of the South, Sewanee, TN, USA.
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Poulsen R, Cedergreen N, Hayes T, Hansen M. Nitrate: An Environmental Endocrine Disruptor? A Review of Evidence and Research Needs. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2018; 52:3869-3887. [PMID: 29494771 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b06419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Nitrate is heavily used as an agricultural fertilizer and is today a ubiquitous environmental pollutant. Environmental endocrine effects caused by nitrate have received increasing attention over the last 15 years. Nitrate is hypothesized to interfere with thyroid and steroid hormone homeostasis and developmental and reproductive end points. The current review focuses on aquatic ecotoxicology with emphasis on field and laboratory controlled in vitro and in vivo studies. Furthermore, nitrate is just one of several forms of nitrogen that is present in the environment and many of these are quickly interconvertible. Therefore, the focus is additionally confined to the oxidized nitrogen species (nitrate, nitrite and nitric oxide). We reviewed 26 environmental toxicology studies and our main findings are (1) nitrate has endocrine disrupting properties and hypotheses for mechanisms exist, which warrants for further investigations; (2) there are issues determining actual nitrate-speciation and abundance is not quantified in a number of studies, making links to speciation-specific effects difficult; and (3) more advanced analytical chemistry methodologies are needed both for exposure assessment and in the determination of endocrine biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rikke Poulsen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Thorvaldsensvej 40 , 1871 Frederiksberg , Denmark
| | - Nina Cedergreen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Thorvaldsensvej 40 , 1871 Frederiksberg , Denmark
| | - Tyrone Hayes
- Laboratory for Integrative Studies in Amphibian Biology, Molecular Toxicology, Group in Endocrinology, Energy and Resources Group, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and Department of Integrative Biology , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Martin Hansen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Thorvaldsensvej 40 , 1871 Frederiksberg , Denmark
- Laboratory for Integrative Studies in Amphibian Biology, Molecular Toxicology, Group in Endocrinology, Energy and Resources Group, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and Department of Integrative Biology , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
- Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
- Department of Environmental Science , Aarhus University , 4000 Roskilde , Denmark
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Hamlin HJ, Edwards TM, McCoy J, Cruze L, Guillette LJ. Environmentally relevant concentrations of nitrate increase plasma testosterone concentrations in female American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2016; 238:55-60. [PMID: 27118707 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2016] [Accepted: 04/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Anthropogenic nitrogen is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant that is contributing to the degradation of freshwater, estuarine, and coastal ecosystems worldwide. The effects of environmental nitrate, a principal form of nitrogen, on the health of aquatic life is of increasing concern. We exposed female American alligators to three concentrations of nitrate (0.7, 10 and 100mg/L NO3-N) for a duration of five weeks and five months from hatch. We assessed growth, plasma sex steroid and thyroid hormone concentrations, and transcription levels of key genes involved in steroidogenesis (StAR, 3β-HSD, and P450scc) and hepatic clearance (Cyp1a, Cyp3a). Exposure to 100mg/L NO3-N for both five weeks and five months resulted in significantly increased plasma testosterone (T) concentrations compared with alligators in the reference treatment. No differences in 17β-estradiol, progesterone, or thyroid hormones were observed, nor were there differences in alligator weight or the mRNA abundance of steroidogenic or hepatic genes. Plasma and urinary nitrate concentrations increased with increasing nitrate treatment levels, although relative plasma concentrations of nitrate were significantly lower in five month, versus five week old animals, possibly due to improved kidney function in older animals. These results indicate that environmentally relevant concentrations of nitrate can increase circulating concentrations of T in young female alligators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather J Hamlin
- School of Marine Sciences, Aquaculture Research Institute, University of Maine, 5751 Murray Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, and Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA; Department of Biology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
| | - Thea M Edwards
- Department of Biology, University of the South, 159 Spencer Hall, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA; Department of Biology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Jessica McCoy
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, and Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA
| | - Lori Cruze
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, and Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA; Department of Biology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Louis J Guillette
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, and Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA; Department of Biology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Guo Y, Zhou B. Thyroid endocrine system disruption by pentachlorophenol: an in vitro and in vivo assay. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2013; 142-143:138-145. [PMID: 24001430 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2013.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Revised: 08/02/2013] [Accepted: 08/12/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The present study aimed to evaluate the disruption caused to the thyroid endocrine system by pentachlorophenol (PCP) using in vitro and in vivo assays. In the in vitro assay, rat pituitary GH3 cells were exposed to 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 1.0 μM PCP. PCP exposure significantly downregulated basal and triiodothyronine (T3)-induced Dio 1 transcription, indicating the antagonistic activity of PCP in vitro. In the in vivo assay, zebrafish embryos were exposed to 0, 1, 3, and 10 μg/L of PCP until 14 days post-fertilization. PCP exposure resulted in decreased thyroxine (T4) levels, but elevated contents of whole-body T3. PCP exposure significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of genes along hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, including those encoding thyroid-stimulating hormone, sodium/iodide symporter, thyroglobulin, Dio 1 and Dio 2, alpha and beta thyroid hormone receptor, and uridinediphosphate-glucuronosyl-transferase. PCP exposure did not influence the transcription of the transthyretin (TTR) gene. The results indicate that PCP potentially disrupts the thyroid endocrine system both in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongyong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
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