Perfluorooctanoic acid exposure during pregnancy alters the apoptosis of uterine cells in pregnant mice

The present study investigates the effects of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure on reproductive toxicity and uterine apoptosis in pregnant mice. Sixty pregnant mice were randomly divided into 6 groups (groups A, B, C, D, E and F). In control group (A), the mice received distilled water at 10 mg/kg body weight per day on gestation days (GD) 1 to 17. The mice in group B, C, D, E and F were treated with PFOA solution at 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg body weight respectively from GD1 to GD17. The mice were sacrificed on GD18. The distribution and expression of Fas, FasL, Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase-3 in uterine cells were detected by immunohistochemistry. The apoptosis of uterine cells was detected by TdT- mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL). Results showed that the expression of Fas, FasL, and Caspase 3 in uterus increased significantly after PFOA was applied. The expression of Bcl-2 was decreased significantly and the expression of Bax was increased significantly. The ratio of Bcl-2/Bax decreased significantly compared with the control group (P<0.01). PFOA exposure increased the number of apoptotic uterine cells in a dose-dependent manner. The results indicated that PFOA could accelerate the apoptosis of uterine cells, and lead to slow embryo development or abortion by regulating the expression of Fas, FasL, Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 in uterine cells.