title: Atrazine disrupts steroidogenesis, VEGF and NO production in swine granulosa cells.
abstract: Atrazine is one of the most widely employed herbicides. Due to its environmental persistence, it can be detected in ground and water thus becoming the subject of a serious concern because of its potential endocrine disrupting activity. In particular, several in vitro and in vivo studies point out adverse effects on reproduction. However, these data were mainly collected in the male, while studies on females are lacking. Present work was therefore set up on swine ovarian granulosa cells to investigate the effect of atrazine on steroidogenesis and proliferation. Moreover, since vessel growth is fundamental for reproductive function, we evaluated the herbicide's effect on two of the main angiogenesis signaling molecules, VEGF and NO. Our data show that atrazine markedly interferes with steroidogenesis while it does not modify cell proliferation; in addition, the herbicide has also been found to affect the production of the examined angiogenesis molecules. Collectively, these results indicate for the first time a potential negative effect of atrazine on ovarian functions in the swine species.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Medico-Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Parma, Via del Taglio 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. basini@unipr.it
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basini
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bussolati
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baioni
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramoni
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grolli
authors.forename: Virna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grasselli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001280:Atrazine / Q000633:toxicity*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity; D004958:Estradiol / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013552:Swine; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D006540:Herbicides; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol; D001280:Atrazine