Toxics, Vol. 13, Pages 672: Effects of Diethylstilbestrol on Uterus Structure and Immunological Function in Mice During Early Pregnancy

Toxics doi: 10.3390/toxics13080672

Authors:
Jian Li
Ruiping Xu
Guan Wang
Yanhua Su
Yaoxing Chen
Jing Cao

Due to the growing environmental burden of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), there is an increasing concern regarding the reproductive hazards posed by synthetic estrogens, particularly diethylstilbestrol (DES). However, the precise mechanisms by which DES disrupts uterine endocrine function and immune homeostasis leading to pregnancy failure remain unclear. Given that wild rodents serve as key reservoirs for zoonotic diseases such as plague, reproductive interventions targeting their pregnancy processes hold significant ecological implications for disease control. In this study, female mice in estrus were randomly divided into four experimental groups, receiving DES at doses of 0 (control), 0.02 (low), 0.2 (medium), and 2 mg/kg (high), respectively. For five consecutive days, mice were injected subcutaneously on a daily basis, with the goal of examining DES-related alterations in hormone secretion and local immune responses within the uterus and spleen. It was found that high-dose DES treatment significantly increased maternal body weight and spleen weight during early pregnancy (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, reproductive function declined progressively with increasing doses, as indicated by decreased ovarian and uterine weights, fewer embryos, and extended estrous cycle duration (p < 0.05). Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that high-dose DES markedly reduced uterine gland density at day P5, accompanied by epithelial vacuolar degeneration and nuclear pyknosis. The proportion of uterine glands relative to total uterine area also decreased significantly with increasing DES doses. Moreover, DES inhibited lymphocyte proliferation in both the uterus and spleen in a dose-dependent fashion, with ConA- and LPS-induced proliferation rates decreasing by 0.78–30.70% and 1.91–18.20%, respectively (p < 0.05). The proinflammatory cytokine IL-2 was significantly elevated by DES, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 showed a notable decrease (p < 0.05). DES administration notably decreased uterine expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen. In contrast, the numbers of B-cell lymphoma 2- and Bcl-2-associated X protein-positive cells rose, along with upregulated levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase. Furthermore, DES impaired antioxidant defenses in both the uterus and spleen, evidenced by the decreased activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, reduced total antioxidant capacity, and elevated malondialdehyde levels. This study elucidates the multifaceted mechanisms by which DES impairs the early gestational reproductive environment, filling a critical knowledge gap regarding its interference with the uterus–immune axis, and expands the current understanding of the ecotoxicological impacts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

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