내분비계 장애물질은 생체내에서 호르몬 등의 내분비계에 영향을 주기 때문에 미량으로도 생식기능에 이상을 가져 올 수 있고, 급ㆍ만성 독성과는 달리 차세대에 그 영향이 발현될 수 있다. 대부분의 내분비계 장애물질은 에스트로겐 유사물질로 알려져 있으며, 내분비계 장애물질의 하나인 bisphenol A (BPA)도 이러한 성질을 가진 물질이다. 본 연구는 BPA가 생쥐의 정자형성과정에 어떤 영향을 미치는가를 분석하고자, 농도별 (저농도, 20 mg/kg, 고농
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are exogenous chemicals which interfere several aspects of natural hormone properties. EDs with estrogenic activity have been recently reported to cause animal reproductive problems. This study was performed to investigate the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on the mouse spermatogenesis in vivo. Male ICR mice were orally injected on a daily basis with low dose of BPA 20 mg/kg, high dose of BPA 200 mg/kg, or corn oil (vehicle control) for 7 days, and litter size and weights of body, testis, and cauda epididymis were measured. The level of serum testosterone and the expression of TGF- mRNA were also analyzed using RIA and RT-PCR, respectively. Also, morphological differences of testes after treatments were examined. Sperm concentration and level of serum testosterone showed a decreasing tendency detected as untreated >corn oil >low >high dose BPA treated mice, although there were no significant statistical differences. Interestingly, in mice treated with a high dose of BPA, partial disappearance of spermatozoa in seminiferous tubular lumen and the expression of TGF- mRNA were observed. Spermatogenesis was disrupted through TGF- system in the seminiferous tubules, resulting in no development of germ cells. Similarly, the litter size treated with a high dose of BPA was significantly different from that of untreated control group. In conclusion, these results that a high dose of BPA (200 mg/kg) acts as an endocrine disruptor during apermatogenesis in male mice md that there are BPA-specific lesions in the adult male reproductive tract might represent a permanently altered responsiveness to testosterone by BPA in the affected target tissue.