Exposure to butylated hydroxytoluene compromises endometrial decidualization during early pregnancy

作者全名："Sun, Zhifang; Gao, Rufei; Chen, Xuemei; Liu, Xueqing; Ding, Yubin; Geng, Yanqing; Mu, Xinyi; Liu, Taihang; Li, Fangfang; Wang, Yingxiong; He, Junlin"

作者地址："[Sun, Zhifang; Gao, Rufei; Chen, Xuemei; Liu, Xueqing; Ding, Yubin; Li, Fangfang; He, Junlin] Chongqing Med Univ, Sch Publ Hlth & Management, Lab Reprod Biol, Chongqing 400016, Peoples R China; [Sun, Zhifang; Gao, Rufei; Chen, Xuemei; Liu, Xueqing; Ding, Yubin; Geng, Yanqing; Mu, Xinyi; Liu, Taihang; Li, Fangfang; Wang, Yingxiong; He, Junlin] Chongqing Med Univ, Joint Int Res Lab Reprod & Dev, Chongqing 400016, Peoples R China; [Geng, Yanqing; Mu, Xinyi; Liu, Taihang; Wang, Yingxiong] Chongqing Med Univ, Coll Basic Med, Chongqing 400016, Peoples R China"

通信作者："He, JL (corresponding author), Chongqing Med Univ, Sch Publ Hlth & Management, Lab Reprod Biol, Chongqing 400016, Peoples R China.; He, JL (corresponding author), Chongqing Med Univ, Joint Int Res Lab Reprod & Dev, Chongqing 400016, Peoples R China."

来源：ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH

ESI学科分类：ENVIRONMENT/ECOLOGY

WOS号：WOS:000635872900009

JCR分区：Q2

影响因子：5.8

年份：2021

卷号：28

期号：31

开始页：42024

结束页：42036

文献类型：Article

关键词：Butylated hydroxytoluene; Decidualization; Estrogen; Progesterone; Reproduction; Toxicity

摘要："Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), one of the most widely used synthetic phenolic antioxidants, is a popular food additive. Previous studies have reported the possible health hazards of BHT. However, BHT effects on female reproduction, especially on endometrial decidualization, are still unknown. During early pregnancy, decidualization plays important roles for embryo implantation and pregnancy establishment. This study aimed to explore the effects of BHT on endometrial decidualization in pregnant mice. The pregnant mice received BHT via intraperitoneal injection at doses of 0, 200, and 400 mg/kg/day from day 1 (D1) of pregnancy until sacrifice. Under BHT exposure, maternal body weight was significantly decreased during early pregnancy. Compared with the control group, the number of implantation sites and uterine weight were significantly reduced in the BHT groups. The uterine lumen failed to close after BHT exposure, and the decidual morphology of endometrial stromal cells was inhibited by BHT. Furthermore, BHT significantly decreased the expression of endometrial decidual markers including COX2, HOXA10, and MMP9. Notably, the levels of serum estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) and expression levels of uterus estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and progesterone receptor (PR) during early pregnancy were significantly upregulated following BHT exposure. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that gestational BHT exposure could inhibit decidualization of mouse endometrium during early pregnancy. The disorders of reproductive hormones and changes of hormone receptor signals could be responsible for the impaired decidualization. This study provided new evidence for the deleterious effects of BHT on female reproduction and revealed the potential reproductive toxicity of synthetic phenolic antioxidants."

基金机构：National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [31571554]; Construction Project of Postgraduates Tutor Team of Chongqing [dstd201809]

基金资助正文：The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 31571554] and Construction Project of Postgraduates Tutor Team of Chongqing [No. dstd201809].