title: Morphological and functional disorders of the immature rat uterus after postnatal exposure to benz[a]anthracene and benzo[k]fluoranthene.
abstract: We investigated the effects of postnatal exposure to benz[a]anthracene (B[a]A) and benzo[k]fluoranthene (B[k]F) on the development of the rat uterus. Neonates were injected on each postnatal days 1-14 with B[a]A (0.1, 1.0 or 10.0mg/kg), B[k]F (0.1, 1.0 or 5.0mg/kg), ethynylestradiol (EE; 1.0μg/kg) or a vehicle. The rats were killed on day 23. All doses of B[a]A and B[k]F induced a reduction of the uterine weight, a reduction of the estrogen receptor α expression in the luminal epithelium, glandular epithelium and stromal cells. Moreover, the uterotrophic response to EE (3-day administration of 1.0μg/kg on postnatal days 20-22) in rats exposed to B[a]A, B[k]F and EE was lower than in controls. The study showed that postnatal exposure to B[a]A and B[k]F resultes in morphological and functional disorders of the immature rat uterus.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kummer
authors.forename: Jarmila
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mašková
authors.forename: Ján
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matiašovic
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faldyna