Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Lehraiki, Abdelali
• Chamaillard, Cathie
• Krust, Andrée
• Habert, René
• Levacher, Christine

Titel

Genistein impairs early testosterone production in fetal mouse testis via estrogen receptor alpha

Ist Teil von

• Toxicology in vitro, 2011-12, Vol.25 (8), p.1542-1547

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2011

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• ► Genistein, an isoflavone found in soy products, mimics the actions of estrogens. ► The fetal testis is responsive to estrogens. ► Genistein inhibits testosterone secretion during early fetal development. ► This effect occurs through an ERα-dependent mechanism. ► It starts at 10nM genistein, a concentration compatible with human consumption. The widespread consumption of soy-based products raises the issue of the reproductive toxicity of phytoestrogens. Indeed, it is well known that genistein, an isoflavone found in soybeans and soy products, mimics the actions of estrogens and that the fetal testis is responsive to estrogens. Therefore we investigated whether genistein could have deleterious effects on fetal testis. Using organ cultures of fetal testes from wild type and ERα or ERβ knock-out mice we show that genistein inhibits testosterone secretion by fetal Leydig cells during early fetal development (E12.5), within the “masculinization programming window”. This effect occurs through an ERα-dependent mechanism and starting at 10nM genistein, a concentration which is compatible with human consumption. No effect of genistein on the number of gonocytes was detected at any of the studied developmental stages. These results suggest that fetal exposure to phytoestrogens can affect the development and function of the male reproductive system.