Effects of arsenic exposure during the pre- and postnatal development on the puberty of female offspring

The (As) arsenic exposure is a risk factor for causing disturbances in the endocrine organs.ObjectiveTo evaluate if sub-chronic As exposure during the pre- and postnatal development causes disturbances in the puberty. Moreover, determine adverse effects of As on the ovarian follicle and adrenocortical cell maturation.MethodsFemales adult Wistar rats were exposed to sodium arsenite at 3 ppm calculated as As in drinking water from mating, gestation. Following the birth, the female offspring continued exposured to As via lactation. Weaned pups received the same As treatment as mothers, until they were 1–4 months (mo) old. At these ages, blood sampling and tissue harvest were done. The tissues were fixed in situ with 4% paraformaldehyde in phosphate buffer. After the perfusion the ovaries, uterus, adrenal glands were harvested, dissected out, weighted. The ovaries and the adrenal glands were processed to paraffin and sectioned at 5 μM and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for light microscopy.Statistical analysisComparisons between groups were made by unpaired t-test or nonparametric Mann–Whitney test as appropriate.Results100% As treated rats at 1 mo of age were at diestrous stage, with low estradiol E2. As treatment caused disturbances in the morphology of the ovarian cell consisting in DNA damage evidenced by picknotic chromatin, cariorexis, significant cytoplasmic vacuolization and also vasculature damaged. Arrest in follicle maturation was also present.ConclusionsWe found that the onset of puberty in the As treated rats was 1 mo delayed since vagina was still closed, the vaginal smear showed that they were at diestrus stage with plasma low E2 levels.