Environmental hormone effect of chlorinated flame retardant decholrane plus：a preliminary study

Objective To examine environmental hormone effects of flame retardant decholrane plus(DP).Methods The ovariectomized(OVX) female Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups:OVX group,DP treatment groups(25,50,100 mg/kg),positive control group(estradiolE₂,50 mg/kg),and sham-operated group.The rats were treated once a day for 14 consecutive days and sacrificed on day 15;then,the blood samples were collected and uterus were weighed and stored under frozen.Serum-free triiodothyronine(FT₃),serum-free thyroxine(FT₄),and thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH) levels were measured with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and uterine estrogen receptor α(Erα) mRNA expression was determined with real-time reverse transcription PCR(RT-PCR).Results Compared with the sham group,the uterine weight(0.112±0.035 g) and uterine/body weight ratio(0.072 ± 0.030) of the model group were significantly reduced and the expression of Erα mRNA level was significantly decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the uterine weight(0.419±0.059 g) and uterine/body weight ratio(0.186±0.143) of the high-dose DP group increased significantly and the expression of Erα mRNA in the uterus significantly increased,with significant differences(P<0.05).No statisticallly significant changes in serum FT₃,PFT₄,and TSH were observed in the rats with DP treatment.Conclusion DP has estrogenic effect but had no effect on serum thyroid hormone level in rats.