Effects of environmental estrogen on Notch signaling pathway in neonatal rat′s gubernaculum
WANG Guanghuan1 CHEN Kaihong1 ZHONG Jun1 WANG Fusheng1 XU Chengbin1 JIANG Xuewu2
1.Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Guangdong Province, Shantou 515041, China; 2.Department of Pediatric Surgery, Women and Children Hospital of Shenzhen University, Guangdong Province, Shenzhen 518118, China
Abstract:Objective To explore the effect of diethylstilbestrol (DES) on Notch signaling pathway of chorda gubernaculum in offspring rats. Methods Forty-five healthy female SD rats aged 8-10 weeks were divided into the control group, experimental group 1 and 2 according to the random number table, with 15 rats in each group. The experimental group 1 and 2 were given DES 0.1 μg/(kg·d) and DES 25 μg/(kg·d) respectively. According to the conventional ratio of male to female 2∶1 cage. The day of offspring birth of each group was recorded as day 0 after birth (PD0). The chorda gubernaculum was taken at PD1 and PD7 respectively. The expressions of Notch1, Hes1, EGFR and TGF-α were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot imprinting. Results At PD1 and PD7, the mRNA expression of Notch1, Hes1, EGFR and TGF-α in the experimental group 1 were higher than those in the control group and the experimental group 2 (P < 0.05), while only TGF-α mRNA in the experimental group 2 was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). At PD1, the levels of Notch1, Hes1 and TGF-α protein in the experimental group 1 were higher than those in the control group, and the levels of Hes1 and EGFR at PD7 were increased (P < 0.05). Compared with control group, only the levels of Notch1, EGFR and Hes1 protein were in the experimental group 2 increased at PD1, and the levels of Notch1, Hes1 and EGFR protein were increased at PD7 (P < 0.05). Compared with the experimental group 1, only EGFR protein increased in the experimental group 2 at PD1, while Notch1, Hes1 and TGF-α protein increased at PD7 (P < 0.05). Conclusion Environmental estrogen can affect the expression of Notch signaling in gubernaculum of offspring rats, which may be one of the mechanisms of exogenous estrogen affecting the development and proliferation of gubernaculum.