ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) are among the most manufactured nanoparticles in the consumer products, industries, and researches. An increasing body of evidence indicated that ZnO NPs show toxicological effects in vivo. Sex differences in the toxicity of ZnO NPs are not clear, thus the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ZnO NPs on the female and male reproductive organs (uterus, ovary and testes). ZnO NPs were orally administered to female and male mice at dosages level of 0 and 100 mg/kg body weight. The biological material was sampled 3 days after tube feeding. The results demonstrated that Zinc contents were accumulated in the reproductive organs of treated mice. Furthermore, ZnO NPs administration induced significant decrease in the testes weight, an imbalance of hematological and serum biochemical parameters in male mice. The histopathological examinations showed that structural disorder and the appearance of cell apoptosis and death in the ZnO NPs-exposed mice. Additionally, the RT-qPCR data indicated ZnO NPs can activate mitochondrial-mediated signaling pathway and induce caspase depend damage that ultimately injured the uterus. In the ovary, ZnO NPs induce cell apoptosis in Shh pathway activated ovary cells, and affect the synthesis of steroidogenesis. In the testes, ZnO NPs effectively changed the expression level of genes related to oxidant stress, detox/metabolic process, and apoptosis. It was found that ZnO NPs caused more serious reproductive toxicity in the male mice than female mice. Overall, these findings indicated that ZnO NPs could induce exposure-related risks to reproductive health, especially in those who are at the occupational level.

中文翻译：

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小鼠口服氧化锌纳米颗粒后生殖器官功能障碍和基因表达

ZnO 纳米粒子 (NP) 是消费品、工业和研究中制造最多的纳米粒子之一。越来越多的证据表明，ZnO NPs 显示出体内毒理学效应。ZnO NPs 毒性的性别差异尚不清楚，因此本研究的目的是研究 ZnO NPs 对女性和男性生殖器官（子宫、卵巢和睾丸）的影响。以 0 和 100 毫克/千克体重的剂量水平对雌性和雄性小鼠口服 ZnO NP。管饲后3天对生物材料取样。结果表明锌含量在治疗小鼠的生殖器官中积累。此外，ZnO NPs 给药导致雄性小鼠睾丸重量显着下降，血液学和血清生化参数不平衡。组织病理学检查表明，暴露于 ZnO NPs 的小鼠出现结构紊乱和细胞凋亡和死亡。此外，RT-qPCR 数据表明 ZnO NPs 可以激活线粒体介导的信号通路并诱导半胱天冬酶依赖性损伤，最终损伤子宫。在卵巢中，ZnO NPs 在 Shh 通路激活的卵巢细胞中诱导细胞凋亡，并影响类固醇生成的合成。在睾丸中，ZnO NPs 有效地改变了与氧化应激、排毒/代谢过程和细胞凋亡相关的基因的表达水平。结果表明，ZnO NPs 对雄性小鼠的生殖毒性比雌性小鼠更严重。总体而言，这些研究结果表明，ZnO NPs 可能会导致与暴露相关的生殖健康风险，尤其是在职业水平的人群中。