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Farinetti A, Marraudino M, Ponti G, Panzica G, Gotti S. Chronic treatment with tributyltin induces sexually dimorphic alterations in the hypothalamic POMC system of adult mice. Cell Tissue Res 2018; 374:587-594. [PMID: 30078105 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-018-2896-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Tributyltin (TBT), an antifouling agent found in boat paints, is a common contaminant of marine and freshwater ecosystems. It is rapidly absorbed by organic materials and accumulated in many aquatic animals. Human exposure may depend on ingestion of contaminated food or by indirect exposure from household items containing organotin compounds. TBT is defined as an endocrine disruptor compound (EDC) because it binds to androgen receptors. Moreover, it is also included on the list of metabolic disruptors. The brain is a known target of TBT and this compound interferes with the orexigenic system, inducing a strong decrease in NPY expression in the hypothalamus. In the present experiment, we investigated the effect of a chronic treatment with TBT on the mouse anorexigenic system in both sexes, to look at the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) expression in the paraventricular (PVN), dorsomedial (DMN), ventromedial (VMN), and arcuate (ARC) hypothalamic nuclei. The results show a sexually dimorphic effect of TBT on both systems. TBT induced a significant decrease of POMC-positive structures only in female mice in DMN, ARC, and in PVN for both sexes. Apparently, these results show that TBT may interfere with the anorexigenic system in hypothalamic areas involved in the control of food intake, by inhibiting POMC in a sexually dimorphic way. In conclusion, in addition to having a direct effect on fat tissue, the effects of TBT as metabolic disruptor, may be due to gender-specific actions on both orexigenic and anorexigenic hypothalamic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Farinetti
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, 10126, Turin, Italy.,Laboratorio di Neuroendocrinologia, NICO-Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, Regione Gonzole, 10, Orbassano, Turin, 10043, Italy
| | - Marilena Marraudino
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, 10126, Turin, Italy.,Laboratorio di Neuroendocrinologia, NICO-Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, Regione Gonzole, 10, Orbassano, Turin, 10043, Italy
| | - Giovanna Ponti
- Laboratorio di Neuroendocrinologia, NICO-Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, Regione Gonzole, 10, Orbassano, Turin, 10043, Italy.,Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Turin, Italy
| | - GianCarlo Panzica
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, 10126, Turin, Italy.,Laboratorio di Neuroendocrinologia, NICO-Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, Regione Gonzole, 10, Orbassano, Turin, 10043, Italy
| | - Stefano Gotti
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, 10126, Turin, Italy. .,Laboratorio di Neuroendocrinologia, NICO-Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, Regione Gonzole, 10, Orbassano, Turin, 10043, Italy.
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Overview of the effects of endocrine disruptors on pubertal timing. RECENT FINDINGS Epidemiologic studies in humans support animal data demonstrating that exposures to endocrine-disrupting compounds have pronounced effects on pubertal timing and that the timing of endocrine-disrupting compound exposure and the specific agent causes different outcomes. Recent studies confirm subtle effects of lead, dioxins, and phytoestrogens on delaying onset of puberty and demonstrate an association of phthalates and polychlorinated biphenyls with earlier breast development and menarche, respectively. These studies, however, are complicated by mixed exposures of compounds which individually may have opposing actions on the reproductive axis. SUMMARY Animal and human data confirm perturbations in pubertal onset with exposures to endocrine-disrupting compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elka Jacobson-Dickman
- Pediatric Endocrine Division, Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, NY, USA
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