Exposure of Neonatal Rats to the Endocrine Disrupter Bisphenol A Affects Ontogenic Expression Pattern of Testicular Steroid Receptors and Their Coregulators

In light of the adverse reports of Bisphenol A (BPA) on reproduction and considering the pivotal role played by the steroid receptors (SRs) and their coregulators in male reproduction, it was of interest to decipher the influence that BPA may have on their expression pattern during critical 'windows' of development. Male rats were injected with 2.4 µg per pup per day of BPA from postnatal days (PND) 1-5 and controls received vehicle. During development, the testicular expression pattern of SRs (AR, ERβ and ERα), coactivators (SRC-1, SRC-2 and SRC-3) and corepressors (NCoR and SMRT) in BPA-exposed rats were compared. A significant decrease in the expression of SRs was seen in the BPA group. SRC-1 showed a significant decrease, whereas SRC-2 and SRC-3 showed a significant increase in the protein expression whereas corepressor expression remained unaltered in the BPA-exposed groups. Such impairments in the expression pattern can be a putative mechanism of adversities on fertility as a result of BPA exposure.