Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Few studies have been undertaken to assess the possible effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on the reproductive hormone balance in animals or humans with often contradictory results. We investigated possible direct endocrine disruption by BPA of the fetal testes of 2 rat strains (14.5-17.5 days post-coitum) and humans (8-12 gestational weeks) and under different culture conditions. BPA concentrations of 10-8M and 10-5M for 72h reduced testosterone production by the Sprague-Dawley fetal rat testes, while only 10-5M suppressed it in the Wistar strain. The suppressive effects at 10-5M were seen as early as 24h and 48h in both strains. BPA at 10-7-10-5M for 72h suppressed the levels of fetal rat Leydig cell insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3). BPA exposure at 10-8M, 10-7M, and 10-5M for 72h inhibited testosterone production in fetal human testes. For the lowest doses, the effects observed occurred only when no gonadotrophin was added to the culture media and were associated with a poorly preserved testicular morphology. We concluded that (i) BPA can display anti-androgenic effects both in rat and human fetal testes; (ii) it is essential to ascertain that the divergent effects of endocrine disruptors between species in vitro do not result from the culture conditions used, and/or the rodent strain selected; (iii) the optimization of each in vitro assay for a given species should be a major objective rather than the search of an hypothetical trans-species consensual model-system, as the organization of the testis is intrinsically different between mammalian species; (iv) due to the uncertainty existing on the internal exposure of the human fetal testis to BPA, and the insufficient number of epidemiological studies on the endocrine disruptive effects of BPA, caution should be taken in the extrapolation of our present results to the human reproductive health after fetal exposure to BPA.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01121759
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01121759
PUBMED : 25706302
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0117226

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate and compare the pros and cons of using living donors or brain-dead donors in uterus transplantation programs, 2 years after the first worldwide live birth after uterus transplantation. METHODS: The Medline database and the Central Cochrane Library were used to locate uterine transplantation studies carried out in human or nonhuman primates. All types of articles (case reports, original studies, meta-analyses, reviews) in English or French were considered for inclusion. RESULTS: Overall, 92 articles were screened and 44 were retained for review. Proof of concept for human uterine transplantation was demonstrated in 2014 with a living donor. Compared with a brain-dead donor strategy, a living donor strategy offers greater possibilities for planning surgery and also decreases cold ischemia time, potentially translating into a higher success rate. However, this approach poses ethical problems, given that the donor is exposed to surgery risks but does not derive any direct benefit. A brain-dead donor strategy is more acceptable from an ethical viewpoint, but its feasibility is currently unproven, potentially owing to a lack of compatible donors, and is associated with a longer cold ischemia time and a potentially higher rejection rate. CONCLUSIONS: The systematic review demonstrates that uterine transplantation is a major surgical innovation for the treatment of absolute uterine factor infertility. Living and brain-dead donor strategies are not mutually exclusive and, in view of the current scarcity of uterine grafts and the anticipated future rise in demand, both will probably be necessary.
Transplantation

hal-01447062
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447062
DOI : 10.1097/TP.0000000000001481
PUBMED : 27607535

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Endocrine Society
Résumé : International audience
: Context:Masculinization depends on the fetal testis. Exposure of the human fetus during pregnancy to paracetamol or/and to other mild-analgesics is associated with an increased risk of cryptorchidism.Objective:We aimed at determining whether mild analgesics disrupted the morphology and endocrine function of the human testis.Design:We used an in vitro system based on the culture of human fetal testes exposed or not to paracetamol, its metabolite AM404, aspirin, indomethacin, ketoconazole at 10(-4) M to 10(-7) M.Setting:The study was conducted at the University of Rennes I.Patients/Participants:Human fetal testes were from pregnant women following induced abortion, between 7 and 12 weeks of gestation (GW).Main Outcome Measures:Testosterone (radioimmunoassay: RIA), Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH; ELISA), insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3; RIA), prostaglandin D2 and E2 (PGD2 and PGE2, respectively; ELISA), were assayed in the media. Testicular cells were counted using histology and image analysis. The possible nuclear receptor-mediated activities of the analgesics were investigated using reporter cell lines expressing estrogen (ERs), androgen (AR) and peroxysome proliferator-activated γ ( PPARγ) receptors.Results:Indomethacin and aspirin stimulated testosterone production, particularly by the younger testes (8-9 GW vs 10-12 GW). Paracetamol, AM404 and ketoconazole decreased INSL3 levels. Aspirin stimulated, whereas ketoconazole inhibited AMH production. PGE2 levels were inhibited by paracetamol, and aspirin in the 7-12 GW testes, and by indomethacin but only in 7-9.86 GW old testes. The inhibitory trends seen for PGD2 were not statistically significant.Conclusions:Analgesics at concentrations relevant to human exposure cause endocrine disturbances in the fetal testis. We suggest that the fetal human testis displays slight critical age windows for sensitivity to direct exposure to aspirin, indomethacin and paracetamol. The analgesic-induced inhibition of INSL3 may be the mechanism by which analgesics increase the risk of cryptorchidism. Greater caution is required concerning consumption of analgesics during pregnancy.
ISSN: 0021-972X

inserm-00876125
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00876125
DOI : 10.1210/jc.2013-2531
PUBMED : 24030937

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Numerous chemicals are capable of disrupting androgen production, but the possibility that they might act together to produce effects greater than those of the most effective component in the mixture has not been studied directly in human tissues. Suppression of androgen synthesis in fetal life has been associated with testis maldescent, malformations of the genitalia at birth, and poor semen quality later in life. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to investigate whether chemicals can act together to disrupt androgen production in human fetal testis explants and to evaluate the importance of mixture effects when characterizing the hazard of individual chemicals. METHODS: We used an organotypic culture system of human fetal testes explants called FEtal Gonad Assay (FEGA) with tissue obtained at 10 and 12 gestational wk (GW 10-12), to screen 27 chemicals individually for their possible anti-androgenic effect. Based on the results of the screen, we selected 11 compounds and tested them as mixtures. RESULTS: We evaluated mixtures composed of four and eight antiandrogens that contained the pharmaceuticals ketoconazole and theophylline and several previously untested chemicals, such as the pesticides imazalil and propiconazole. Mixtures of antiandrogens can suppress testosterone synthesis in human fetal testicular explants to an extent greater than that seen with individual chemicals. This revealed itself as a shift towards lower doses in the dose-response curves of individual antiandrogens that became more pronounced as the number of components increased from four to eight. CONCLUSIONS: Our results with the FEGA provide the foundations of a predictive human mixture risk assessment approach for anti-androgenic exposures in fetal life. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1014.
Environmental Health Perspectives

hal-01579609
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01579609
DOI : 10.1289/EHP1014
PUBMED : 28796631