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Simazine-induced Alteration of the Expression Levels of Apoptosis- and Steroidogenesis-regulating Genes in Testicular Cells  

Park, Ho-Oak (Dept. of Pharmacy, CHA University)
Ko, Jeong-Jae (Dept. of Biomedical Science, CHA University)
Bae, Jee-Hyeon (Dept. of Pharmacy, CHA University)
Publication Information
Development and Reproduction / v.15, no.2, 2011 , pp. 159-166 More about this Journal
Abstract
Simazine (6-chloro-N,N'-diethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine) is a triazine herbicide that has been applied worldwide including Korea for agricultural purposes. Simazine is the second most commonly detected pesticide in surfaceand ground-water in the United States, Europe and Australia. It has been shown that simazine is a potent endocrine disruptor in wildlife and laboratory animals. Although many endocrine disruptors can induce apoptosis in various types of cells, the effects of simazine on apoptosis and on the expression of Bcl-2 family genes are not known. Also it is unknown the effect of simazine on the expression of steroidogenesis-regulating genes in testicular cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of simazine on the expression levels of apoptosis- and steroidogenesis-regulating genes in testicular cells. We found that a low concentration of simazine can alter the mRNA expression levels of steroidogenesis-related genes and Bcl-2 family genes in mouse Sertoli cells and rat Leydig cells. Thus, our results suggest that simazine can disturb normal testicular development and reproductive function by altering the expression of genes that are critical for the regulation of apoptosis and steroidogenesis.
Keywords
Simazine; Steroidogenesis; Apoptosis; Bcl-2; Testis;
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