* Curriculum in Toxicology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 275997270;
Reproductive Toxicology Division (MD-67), National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, ORD, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; and
Experimental Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, ORD, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711
Received August 20, 2001; accepted September 27, 2001
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ABSTRACT |
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Key Words: 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD); mesenchyme; Mullerian ducts; lower reproductive tract; rat.
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INTRODUCTION |
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A single po dose of 1.0 µg TCDD/kg on gestation day (GD) 8 or GD 15 caused structural and functional abnormalities in the female rat reproductive system, including reduced fecundity and the presence of a vaginal thread (Gray et al ., 1995; Gray and Ostby, 1995). A dose of 1.0 µg TCDD/kg administered on GD 8 resulted in a 27% incidence of malformations in the external genitalia of the female offspring, however the same dose on GD 15 resulted in a 79% incidence. This indicates that the critical period for this effect is closer to GD 15 (Gray and Ostby, 1995; Gray et al ., 1997
). In Long Evans rats, a single dose of 1.0 µg TCDD/kg administered on GD 8 resulted in a fetal urogenital tract concentration of 23 pg/g on GD 16 (Hurst et al ., 1998
). However, administration of 1.0 µg TCDD/kg during a critical period of organogenesis (GD 15) resulted in a urogenital tract concentration of 56 pg/g on GD 16 (Hurst et al ., 2000
). In the study by Gray and Ostby (1995), no distinction was made between whether the vaginal thread was due to gestational exposure to TCDD, which altered normal fetal development, or whether TCDD interferes with normal vaginal opening postnatally. In a similar study, female offspring of Holtzman rats exposed on GD 15 to TCDD displayed a 3644% incidence of vaginal thread (Flaws et al ., 1997
). In addition, they showed that the vaginal thread in TCDD-exposed rats consisted of mesenchyme surrounded by epithelial cells, and that the thread was clearly visible in histological sections as early as PND 2 and was permanent (Flaws et al ., 1997
). In a similar study, it was reported that gestational exposure to TCDD affected vaginal morphogenesis as early as GD 19 (Dienhart et al ., 2000
). This indicates that the mechanism responsible for the occurrence of the vaginal thread involves events that occur during gestation or during the early postnatal period, rather than events at puberty during vaginal opening.
Most of the female genital tract develops from the Mullerian ducts, which form the uterine tubes, uterus, cervix, and upper 3/5 of the vagina (Cunha, 1975). The lower 2/5 of the vagina is derived from the endodermal urogenital sinus (Cunha, 1975
; Forsberg, 1973
). In females, the absence of androgens and Mullerian inhibitory substance (MIS) leads to Wolffian duct regression and Mullerian duct stabilization. The vagina develops by the down-growth of the Mullerian ducts and the fusion of the left and right Mullerian ducts with each other and the urogenital sinus (Mauch et al ., 1985
).
The objective of this study was to investigate TCDD-induced alterations in the developing reproductive tract to better understand vaginal thread formation. In addition, DNA array analysis was performed to survey the effects of TCDD on gene expression in this tissue as this method permits evaluation of a broad range of potentially affected genes. The information presented in this article may help elucidate the mechanism of action for the TCDD-induced effects on vaginal development in the rat.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Experimental design and treatments.
Rats received a single po dose 1.0 µg TCDD/kg in 5 ml corn oil/kg or an equivalent volume of corn oil vehicle on GD 15. Dams were sacrificed on GD 17, 18, 19, and 21 and individual reproductive tracts were isolated from female fetuses. The number of litters and fetuses examined is reported for each parameter in the respective Results sections.
Histological tissue preparation.
Female GD 17, 18, 19, and 21 fetal reproductive tracts were collected and fixed in Kahle's solution (95% EtOH: 40% formalin: Glacial acetic acid: H2O; 17:6:2:28; v/v). The tissues were stained using a Feulgen nuclear staining protocol as described by Whiting (1950). The stained tissues were embedded in paraffin and serial sections were cut in cross-section (2030 µm) to examine gross morphology, presence of mitotic figures, and localized patterns of cell death.
For immunohistochemical analysis, tissues from GD 18 and 19 fetuses were dissected, fixed in 3% paraformaldehyde for 30 min, dehydrated in ascending ethanol series from 30 to 100%, and embedded in paraffin. The tracts were positioned so that the external genitalia were cut initially in cross-section and 6 µm sections were made with a Leica Jung Supercut 2065 microtome (Deerfield, IL). Sections were arranged in a matrix so that sections for each gestational age and treatment group were present on each slide with additional sections positioned to the right of that group for use as normal serum controls.
Gross morphology.
All sections (20 or 30 µm thickness) were examined under a Leitz Laborlux D microscope (25x). For each GD, distinct morphological features, referred to as "landmarks," were identified in the caudal to cranial axis of the lower reproductive tract. The landmarks included (1) separation of the urethra from the urogenital sinus, (2) separation of the urogenital sinus into left and right Mullerian/Wolffian duct pairs, (3) appearance of distinct Mullerian and Wolffian ducts, and (4) fusion of Mullerian ducts. Of particular interest was progression of Mullerian duct fusion in the lower reproductive tract. This was assessed by measuring the length of the unfused Mullerian ducts in the vaginal region as well as determining the degree of separation of the left and right Mullerian ducts, which was measured as the width of the intervening mesenchyme. Measurements of mesenchyme thickness were taken in the first section in which the left and right Mullerian ducts were observed to be 2 distinct structures. Since serial sections were cut in a caudal to cranial direction and section thickness was known, measurements of longitudinal distances between these landmarks could be calculated. A schematic of a GD 18 reproductive tract is provided in Figure 1, which also shows outlines of sections representing landmark morphology (landmarks 14 as described above). Statistical analysis of distance separating left and right Mullerian ducts and comparisons of control and treated were performed on a litter basis using 1-way ANOVAs. The spatial position of GD 17 Mullerian ducts in the cranial-caudal axis and effects of treatment on orientation of the left and right ducts were analyzed using a mixed-effects linear model that looked at the rate of decrease in duct separation along the cranial-caudal axis and included random effects to adjust for variation due to litter and pup (nested within litter). The average separation distances are plotted along the cranial-to-caudal axis. The relative distances between specific morphological features (landmarks) were analyzed on a litter basis for treatment effect using ANOVA and proportional distances on the cranial-caudal axis and are plotted for GD 18, 19, and 21.
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All of the above polyclonal primary antibodies were localized with a biotinylated secondary antibody in conjunction with avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex from a Vector ABC Kit, (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). The peroxidase substrate was 3,3`-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and gave a red-brown color in the regions having bound primary antibody. Additional sections on each slide were incubated with normal serum alone (no primary antibody) as controls for nonspecific staining. The normal serum was from the same species as that used to prepare the secondary antibody (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA).
Expression of the protein was evaluated under the microscope for patterns and intensity. Epithelial expression was defined as basal or luminal. Mesenchymal protein expression was evaluated in 3 regions: between the urethra and ducts, between the Mullerian and Wolffian ducts, and in the region below the ducts. The level of immunohistochemical staining (protein expression) was rated as high, moderate, low, or not detectable (3, 2, 1, 0, respectively). Scoring was done blindly by 2 independent scorers and the results averaged for each sample. Statistical comparisons were on a litter basis and the average of the litter means and SEM is reported in the data tables. For GD 18 scores, 1-way ANOVAs were used to examine the effect of treatment on score. For GD 19, 2-way ANOVAs were used to adjust treatment effect for any variability between experimental sets (2 different experiments were performed to accumulate immunohistochemical data for GD 19).
DNA array.
Research Genetics Rat GeneFilters, GF300, (Research Genetics, Huntsville, AL), were used to evaluate changes in mRNA expression in the GD 18 and 19 control and TCDD-treated fetal female vaginal tissues. At each time-point, individual urogenital tracts were dissected. The bladder and uterine horns were removed leaving the lower reproductive tract, which forms the vagina. The tissues from 3 litters were pooled for each group and the number of fetuses per pool was as follows: on GD 18 there were 13 control and 14 TCDD-treated; on GD 19 there were 9 control and 10 treated. Total RNA was prepared from each pool of tissue (this means that 1 pool of total RNA was available for each treatment on each GD: 1 for GD 18 control, 1 for GD 18 treated, 1 for GD 19 control, and 1 for GD 19 treated). Total RNA was extracted using TRI® Reagent (Molecular Research Center, Inc., Cincinnati, OH). Tissues were frozen in 50 µl of TRI® reagent in 1.5 ml tubes for use with Kontes Pestles (Fisher Scientific, Raleigh, NC). After grinding, the volume was brought up to 500 µl with Tri reagent and the homogenate was extracted with 100 µl chloroform, the aqueous phase precipitated with isopropanol, pellets washed with 75% ethanol, and resuspended in 100 µl diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC)-treated water. Radiolabeled probe was prepared using 1 µg total RNA according to the protocols provided by Research Genetics (Huntsville, AL). Briefly, the total RNA was reverse transcribed with Superscript II Reverse Transcriptase (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD) in presence of Oligo dT (Research Genetics), dNTP mixture (Life Technologies), deoxycytidine 5`-triphosphate, (:-33P), 10 mCi/ml (NEN LifeScience Products, Inc., Boston, MA), and human cot-1 DNA (Life Technologies). The probe was purified using Bio-Spin Chromatography columns (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). The GF300 blots were incubated in 5 ml MicroHybTM hybridization buffer (Research Genetics, Huntsville, AL) in roller bottles in a hybridization oven at 42°C for 23 h. The purified probe was denatured in a boiling water bath and the entire probe was added to the roller bottles containing the blot and prehybridization buffer. The total radioactivity of the probe added to each roller bottle ranged from 2.25 to 3.99 x 108 dpm per 5 ml of hybridization buffer. Following overnight hybridization, the blots were washed twice at 50°C for 20 min in the bottles with 2X SSC, 1% SDS, and then at room temperature in 0.5X SSC, 1% SDS for 15 min. After 4 days exposure to a Phosphor Screen (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA), the images were captured using a Bio-Rad Molecular Imager FX (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA) and analyzed with Research Genetics Pathways PC version 2.01 software.
Blots were stripped with boiling 0.5% SDS solution with agitation for 1 h. Examination on the Imager revealed complete removal of all radiolabeled probe. Blots were reprobed up to 3 times and for each hybridization new probe was prepared from the original pools of total RNA (control and treated for GD 18 and 19). This experimental design evaluated consistency and reproducibility of the array data from 3 separate hybridization experiments that included 3 replicates of the GD 18 control and treated total RNA pools (once on new blots and 2 times on stripped blots) and 4 replicates of the GD 19 control and treated total RNA (2 on new blots and 2 times on stripped blots). Statistical analysis of the ratios of treated to control mRNA expression was performed using SAS software (SAS Institute, 1996). The data were examined graphically to determine if there were observable differences related to blot (new vs. stripped) or variability between preparations of probe for each experiment. The ratios of hybridization intensity of treated to control for each gene were transformed to a log (base 10) scale to reduce association of the variance with the mean and so that increase or decrease of the treated sample with respect to the control could be more easily visualized. The mean and standard error of the 3 or 4 replicates of log treated/control (t/c) was calculated for each gene and t-tests were performed, testing if each mean log (t/c) was different from 0 (equivalent to t/c different from 1). The p-values from these tests were used as descriptive indicators of which genes might have quantitatively different expression in the 2 samples. The mean log (t/c) values were ordered and those with the 50 highest and lowest values were included in the tables of significantly affected genes, if the p-values were less than 0.06.
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RESULTS |
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Ah Receptor
In GD 18 controls, AhR was expressed in epithelial and mesenchymal cells; however, the intensity and pattern of expression varied by region and cell type. The epithelial cells of the urethra and WDs displayed prominent nuclear staining (Fig. 7A, Inset W). In contrast, in the epithelium of the MDs, AhR was expressed uniformly across the nucleus and cytoplasm (Fig. 7A
, Inset M). Prenatal exposure to TCDD did not significantly affect AhR protein expression in the epithelium or mesenchyme of the reproductive tract (Table 2
; GD 18 mean values from 4 control litters with a total of 8 fetuses and 5 TCDD-exposed litters for a total of 8 fetuses). On GD 19, expression of AhR protein was greater in the nucleus compared to the cytoplasm in the epithelia of the urethra, MD, and WD and there was no treatment effect on AhR protein levels or distribution (Table 2
; GD 19 mean values of 6 control litters with a total of 9 fetuses and 5 TCDD-exposed litters with a total of 10 fetuses).
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DISCUSSION |
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To explain the TCDD-induced vaginal thread formation, we hypothesized that TCDD may be increasing proliferation and/or inhibiting apoptosis. Chromatin staining by the Feulgen stain allowed an assessment of these cellular processes. Although cells undergoing mitosis were clearly visible, an increase in proliferation was not seen in the zone of mesenchyme between the MDs. Furthermore, apoptotic bodies (indicative of cell death) were not seen in the region of unfused MDs in the TCDD-treated fetuses, which may support our hypothesis that TCDD suppresses or inhibits apoptosis. Although appropriate tests for quantitating apoptosis are needed to confirm these observations, our findings suggest that other cellular processes may be involved in the pathogenesis of vaginal thread formation.
One of the most striking characteristics of the vaginal thread was the retained zone of unfused MDs, including the mesenchymal core. This was consistent with observations of Dienhart et al. (2000). During normal MD fusion, mesenchyme removal may involve migration of these cells out of the zone between the left and right MDs. Processes involved in disruption of fusion could include failure of cells to migrate out of the zone or stimuli that recruit cells into the zone. Growth factor expression as well as synthesis and remodeling of extracellular matrix are potential regulators of these processes and members of the TGF-ß3 family are known to regulate such events. For example, TCDD disrupts growth factor expression in the embryonic urinary tract affecting epithelial cell proliferation and matrix protein expression (Abbott and Birnbaum, 1990a; Abbott et al ., 1987
). In developing embryonic tissues, TCDD alters expression of TGF-
:, EGF, and TGF-ß (Abbott and Birnbaum, 1990a
,b
). The TGF-ßs can inhibit the growth of epithelial cells, but can also stimulate or inhibit the proliferation of mesenchymal cells depending on the entire set of expressed growth factors (Sporn et al ., 1994
).
The present study demonstrated that the epithelial and mesenchymal cells of the developing reproductive tract expressed the AhR with a specific subcellular and time-dependent localization from GD 1819. TCDD exposure did not significantly alter the AhR protein expression. This is in agreement with the work of Bryant and coworkers (1997) in which TCDD did not produce changes in the concentration of AhR protein or mRNA in embryonic mouse urinary tract. However, other data suggest a down-regulation of AhR due to TCDD exposure and the detection of this response may be dependent on the time after exposure at which the tissues are examined. (Abbott et al ., 1994; Pollenz et al ., 1998
; Prokipcak and Okey, 1991
; Swanson and Bradfield, 1993
). Within the developing MDs, there was a shift in the localization of AhR protein from GD 18 to GD 19. On GD 18, the epithelial cells of the MD exhibited equal nuclear and cytoplasmic staining. However, by GD 19, this pattern shifted to a greater expression in the nucleus. A temporal change in the cellular localization of AhR protein may indicate that the AhR plays a critical role in the development of the reproductive system.
Laminin localized predominantly to the basement membranes surrounding epithelial structures. Regression of the MD in male rats is accompanied by apoptosis of epithelial and mesenchymal cells, degradation of the basement membrane, and loss of distinction between the epithelium and the mesenchyme (Trelstad et al ., 1982). Our results indicated that the region of unfused MDs was substantially longer and contained more interductal mesenchyme in the TCDD-treated fetuses. In the present study, cell death did not appear to contribute to the removal of the mesenchyme between the MDs or to the fusion of the MDs. In male rats, MD morphogenesis is dependent on the interaction between the epithelia and the mesenchyme (Cunha and Lung, 1979
), and dissolution of the ductal membrane was shown to be associated with several biochemical events (Hayashi et al ., 1982
). Transformations of epithelia-to-mesenchyme and mesenchyme-to-epithelia commonly occur in development and this process is believed to have a role in regression of the MD in the male (Trelstad, 1977
; Trelstad et al ., 1967
). The remodeling of the ductal system in both male and female requires multiple, complex interactive processes to occur and the potential exists for TCDD to disrupt several of these, including epithelial to mesenchymal transformations, remodeling of the extracellular matrix and basement membrane, and removal of cells via cell migration, proliferation, or cell death. The use of DNA array methodology provided some support for the involvement of remodeling and transformation through detection of altered expression of genes mechanistically involved in these pathways.
Gestational TCDD exposure significantly increased mRNA expression of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2; Table 6). BMPs are members of the TGF-ß superfamily. TGF-ß family members initiate signaling through interactions with type I/type II TGF-ß receptor complexes (Wrana et al ., 1994
). In early development, BMPs are involved in the formation of early mesoderm, endoderm, and epidermis (Gerhart, 1999
). Downstream targets of BMP-2 are Smad 1, 5, and 8, which upon phosphorylation, form a complex and translocate to the nucleus to activate gene transcription (Whitman, 1998
). On GD 18, TCDD exposure decreased Smad 4 mRNA. Smads interact with activated TGF-ß receptors and are important in TGF-ß signal transduction (Itoh et al ., 2000
). TGF-ß responsive genes include collagen, fibronectin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which are ECM proteins that are critical in tissue remodeling and repair (Roberts et al ., 1992
). TCDD-induced alterations in these proteins may disrupt basement membrane degradation and/or ECM remodeling, events that may be necessary for fusion of epithelial structures such as the MDs. On GD 19, TCDD increased the expression of STAT5b. Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) are transcription factors that are mediators of cytokine signaling. Activation of STATs results in genes that are important in controlling cell proliferation, survival, differentiation, and development (Bowman et al ., 2000
). Aberrant STAT signaling in response to TCDD may contribute to cellular transformation by promoting cell cycle progression and/or cell survival.
The power of the DNA array approach allows the evaluation of treatment effects on a very large number of genes across multiple physiological pathways and potentially identifies genes and/or pathways that might not have been revealed without this analysis. However, in the present application this analysis required pooling of multiple dissected specimens to provide sufficient total RNA for each analysis. The reported changes in gene expression should be confirmed using quantitative methods; unfortunately, the RNA and other resources were not available to conduct these studies. However, the DNA array data can be appropriately used to provide guidance for future directions of TCDD mechanistic research. The experiments identified genes and gene families that participate in remodeling pathways during development and the literature regarding the roles of these pathways supports the proposal that these mechanisms are important in vaginal thread formation.
In conclusion, prenatal exposure to TCDD produces subtle effects on the female reproductive tract, which results in persistent vaginal abnormalities, as early as 48 h after exposure. Changes in the spatial and temporal expression of growth factors in response to TCDD may be implicated in the vaginal thread pathogenesis. Careful analysis of DNA array data may provide insight regarding gene pathways involved in the responses to TCDD that ultimately lead to TCDD-induced vaginal thread formation.
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NOTES |
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1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: (919) 541-4017. E-mail: abbott.barbara{at}epa.gov.
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