title: Endocrine disruptive effect of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol isolated from diesel exhaust particles in Hershberger assay using castrated immature rats.
abstract: To examine the endocrine disruptive effects of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (4-nitro-m-cresol; PNMC) in diesel exhaust particles (DEP), the rat Hershberger assay was carried out using castrated immature rats. Castrated 28-d-old immature male rats were implanted with a 5-mm-long silastic tube containing crystalline testosterone and injected with PNMC subcutaneously at doses 1, 10, or 100 mg/kg for 5 consecutive d. The weights of the livers significantly decreased in the 10 and 100 mg/kg PNMC treatment groups as compared with the control group. The weights of the seminal vesicles significantly increased in the 10 mg/kg PNMC treatment group as compared with the control group. The weights of the Cowper's glands were significantly increased in 1 mg/kg PNMC treatment group compared with the control group. The concentrations of plasma testosterone significantly increased in the 10 and 100 mg/kg PNMC treatment groups, indicating that PNMC induced accumulation of bioactive testosterone released from the implanted tube in circulation. Plasma follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels significantly decreased under all the doses in the PNMC treatment groups, indicating that PNMC acts on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan.
authors.forename: Xuezheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: ChunMei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Akira K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taneda
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003408:Cresols / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity*; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D003408:Cresols; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; C008636:4-nitro-3-cresol; D013739:Testosterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone