Backgroung

Exposure to environmental pollutants in critical developmental windows may predispose the prostate to permanent changes in its homeostasis. Thus, it is essential to know the effects that environmental toxics, such as aluminum, can cause during the development of this gland. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of neonatal aluminum exposure on the ventral male prostate and the female prostate of 15 days old gerbils.

Methods

Male and female gerbils were exposed orally to 10 mg/kg/day of aluminum chloride from the 1st to the 14th postnatal day life. At 15 days of life, gerbils were euthanized and their prostates were collected for biometric, morphological, morphometric, immunohistochemical and three-dimensional reconstruction analyzes.

Results

Al exposure caused a reduction in body weight in males and a significant increase in serum testosterone levels in females. Prostate branching morphogenesis was intensified in males, who had greater length, number and area of prostatic epithelial buds. Additionally, Al altered the prostate hormonal regulation of males and females, causing up regulation of the androgen receptor and estrogen receptor alpha in the female prostate, and increased immunostaining of the androgen receptor in the ventral male prostate. These changes were associated with an increased rate of epithelial and stromal cell proliferation in both sexes.

Conclusion

Together, these results indicate that Al altered the neonatal development of the prostate and that this metal acted as an endocrine disruptor in this gland.

中文翻译：

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新生儿接触氯化铝会破坏沙鼠腹侧雄性前列腺和雌性前列腺的分支形态发生和激素信号传导。

 背景

在关键的发育窗口期暴露于环境污染物可能会使前列腺的体内平衡发生永久性变化。因此，了解环境有毒物质（例如铝）在该腺体发育过程中可能造成的影响至关重要。本研究的目的是评估新生儿铝暴露对 15 日龄沙鼠腹侧雄性前列腺和雌性前列腺的影响。

 方法

雄性和雌性沙鼠在出生后第 1 天至第 14 天期间口服暴露于 10 mg/kg/天的氯化铝。出生 15 天时，对沙鼠实施安乐死，并收集其前列腺进行生物识别、形态学、形态测量、免疫组织化学和三维重建分析。

 结果

铝暴露导致男性体重减轻，女性血清睾酮水平显着增加。男性的前列腺分支形态发生增强，前列腺上皮芽的长度、数量和面积更大。此外，Al还改变了男性和女性的前列腺激素调节，导致女性前列腺中雄激素受体和雌激素受体α的上调，并增加了男性前列腺腹侧雄激素受体的免疫染色。这些变化与两性上皮细胞和基质细胞增殖率的增加有关。

 结论

总之，这些结果表明铝改变了前列腺的新生儿发育，并且这种金属在该腺体中起到了内分泌干扰物的作用。