Background: Bisphenol-A (BPA) is one of the widespread industrial compounds, which has adverse effects on animal and human health. The
study was aimed to explore the effects of
Crassostrea gigas
extracts (CGE) in alleviating ovarian functional disorders of female rats with
exposure to BPA and the underlying possible mechanism.
Materials and methods: Eighteen four-week-old female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into BPA group (50mg/kg BPA),
BPA+CGE group (50mg/kg BPA+50mg/kg CGE), and control group (equivalent dosage of vehicle) with 6 rats in each group. After a 6-week
treatment ended, the serum levels of estradiol (E
2), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by using
commercial standard assay kits. The expression levels of FSH receptor (FSHR) in the rat ovarian tissues were respectively detected by
immunohistochemistry and Real-time PCR.
Results: CGE treatment markedly increased E
2 levels and decreased FSH levels in the serum (P<0.05), however, the alterations of serum LH
levels were not significant (P>0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of FSHR were the lowest in the ovaries of control rats and the
highest in BPA rats (P<0.05). CGE treatment markedly decreased the expression levels of FSHR in the ovarian tissues (P<0.05).
Conclusions: Crassostrea gigas successfully alleviates ovarian functional disorders of female rats with exposure to BPA partly through
decreasing FSHR expression levels in the ovarian tissues.
