title: Transgenerational toxicity of Zearalenone in pigs.
abstract: Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin that can be a contaminant of food and feed commodities. ZEN acts as a xenoestrogen and is considered an endocrine disruptor. Since estrogens influence oogenesis during fetal growth, the effect of ZEN on oocytes was investigated in the F1-generation. Pregnant and lactating pigs were exposed to feed naturally contaminated with ZEN (200, 500 and 1000μg/kg feed). Ovaries of F1-animals were examined for follicle development, expression of estrogen converting enzymes and estrogen receptors, and oocyte quality. In F1-newborns, ZEN did not affect follicle dynamics, but follicle integrity decreased with increasing ZEN concentrations. Expression of estrogen receptor beta mRNA increased following ZEN exposure, whereas expression of genes coding for estrogen converting enzymes remained unchanged. In F1-prepubertal gilts, follicular atresia and oocyte maturation with subsequent embryo development remained unchanged. In conclusion, ZEN reduced the quantity of healthy follicles, which may lead to premature oocyte depletion in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 104, 3584 CM, Utrecht, The Netherlands. E.J.Schoevers@uu.nl
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Schoevers
authors.forename: Regiane R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Colenbrander
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fink-Gremmels
authors.forename: Bernard A J
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Roelen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010053:Ovary / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013552:Swine; D015025:Zearalenone / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal; D015025:Zearalenone