Aluminum disrupts the prenatal development of the male and female gerbil prostate (Meriones unguiculatus)

Aluminium toxicosis: a review of toxic actions and effects

“…Al accumulates in endocrine glands and causes damage to the glands through oxidative stress, thereby decreasing the level of the hormones secreted (Morrissey et al, 1983) into the bloodstream for action at the target organs, causing organ hypofunction. For instance, there are reports of testicular and ovarian failures (Mohammed et al, 2008;Fu et al, 2014;Miska-Scramm et al, 2017) from inadequate androgenic hormone levels (Chinoy and Patel, 2001;Shahraki et al, 2008;Sun et al, 2011;Muselin et al, 2016;Mouro et al, 2018) and decreased androgen receptor functions (Fu et al, 2014;Sun et al, 2018;Gomes et al, 2019), bone pathology due to dysfunction of parathyroid gland (Cannata et al, 1983;Sherrard et al, 1985;Cournot-Witmer and Plachott, 1990;Díaz-Corte et al, 2001;Gonzelez-Suerez et al, 2005), prediabetes and diabetes due to pancreatic islet damage (Wei et al, 2018). Parathyroid function can be impaired by the Al ion acting on calcium-sensing receptors when calcium level is low, with a higher efficiency than calcium and decreasing the expression of the receptors in the gland (Gonzelez-Suerez et al, 2005).…”

“…The protein components of membranes are degraded or inadequately expressed during Al exposure, as observed in the loss of band 3 protein of erythrocyte membrane (Vittori et al, 2002;Vota et al, 2012;Cheng et al, 2018), inaction of membrane-bound enzymes, inhibition of calbindin protein level in enterocytic membrane (Cox and Dunn, 2001) and downregulation of GLUT4 protein expression in the membrane of skeletal muscle (Wei et al, 2018). The surface of cell membranes could be affected by Al exposure through externalization of phosphatidylserine after apoptosis (Vota et al, 2012), inhibition of membrane receptor protein expression in gonads (Fu et al, 2014;Sun et al, 2018;Gomes et al, 2019), dysregulation of erythropoietin receptor functions on erythroid progenitors (Vittori et al, 2005) and loss of membrane surface sialic acid residues on vascular endothelial tissue with impaired intercellular junctions (Vorbrodt et al, 1994).…”

“…Testicular and epididymal weights and serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels were reduced by Al exposure (Reza and Palan, 2006;Mouro et al, 2017). In male and female gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), Al exposure disrupted prostate development in neonates, with the consequence of adult offspring having elevated serum testosterone levels with low androgen receptor frequency associated with increased proliferation of cells of the prostate (Gomes et al, 2019). Chinoy and Patel (2001) exposed female mice to Al chloride at 200 mg/kg for 30 days and observed decreased steroidogenesis in the ovaries associated with decreased serum estradiol levels.…”

Inflammatory repercussions in female steroid responsive glands after perinatal exposure to bisphenol A and 17‐β estradiol

“…The initial development of this organ takes place during the prenatal period and in rodents it has been shown to be susceptible to environmental factors. For example, female prostate glands experimentally exposed to disruptors during early development have also shown signs of developmental disruption (da Silva Gomes et al, 2020; Gomes et al, 2019). BPA also influences the homeostasis of this gland (Silva et al, 2019), as it also interacts with androgen receptors to prompt epithelial cells proliferation (Lee et al, 2003).…”

Subacute exposure to aluminum chloride causes prolonged morphological insults in the ventral male prostate and in the female prostate of adult gerbils

“…29,33,34 Due to the high degree of environmental exposure and toxicity to Al, several studies have investigated its effects on the reproductive system, demonstrating that this metal disrupts the reproductive morphophysiology of rodents. [35][36][37] Previous studies with gerbils have shown that Al exposure during neonatal development alters prostate branching morphogenesis. 38 Additionally, Da Silva Lima et al 39 observed that adult gerbils exposed to Al had tissue damage in the prostate and gonads, as well as reduced activity of the antioxidant protection system in these organs.…”