Disruption of female reproductive development by pDCB exposure during fetal and juvenile stages

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K10609
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 58020:Hygiene and public health-related: including laboratory approach
• Research Institution: Suzuka University of Medical Science
• Principal Investigator: Ban Susumu 鈴鹿医療科学大学, 薬学部, 准教授 (30399828)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 環境中毒 / 内分泌かく乱物質 / 次世代影響

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Disruptions in female reproductive development have been shown to be risk factors for many adult diseases, including breast cancer, uterine cancer, and metabolic syndrome. Paradichlorobenzene (pDCB), which has been reported successively in recent epidemiological studies, as a disruptor of female reproductive development. In this study, perturbation effect of pDCB exposure during the fetal and juvenile stages on female reproductive development was investigated. As a result, prenatal exposure to pDCB hastened the vaginal opening and increased the rate of abnormal estrogen cycle associated with changes in the expression levels of genes involved in estrogen synthesis, and it was found that pDCB exposure at the juvenile stage increased the rate of abnormal vaginal estrogen cycle.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年の疫学研究により、pDCB曝露による女性生殖発達の撹乱影響が明らかとなっているにもかかわらず、pDCB曝露による雌性生殖発達の撹乱影響に関する動物実験等による基礎知見は非常に不足している。本研究による内分泌かく乱化学物質などに対して最も脆弱な時期である胎児期・幼若期におけるpDCB曝露による雌性生殖発達の攪乱影響に対する評価は、ヒト女性生殖発達の撹乱を解明するためのモデルを示すことができ、ヒト成人女性の疾病予防のための基礎知見を提供することが期待できるため、予防医学上重要である。