Effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) on reproductive development in rats

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) are environmental pollutants with known endocrine disrupting potential. Both substances display various thyroid hormone (TH) system disrupting effects, both in vitro and in vivo, but effects on the reproductive system following developmental exposure are less characterized. Recently, we described effects following perinatal exposure to PFOS (0.4 or 0.8 mg/kg bw/day) and TBBPA (250 or 500 mg/kg bw/day) on the TH system in rats, showing a complex effect pattern. Here, we report data on reproductive endpoints (anogenital distance (AGD), nipple retention (NR) and male reproductive organ weights) and steroid hormone levels in offspring from the same in vivo study. Results indicate that PFOS and TBBPA do not affect antiandrogenic endpoints such as AGD and NR at administered doses. PFOS had a modest effect on steroidogenesis, increasing estrone levels in fetuses, and in the 16-day-old pups increasing corticosterone levels in the low-dose group and progesterone levels in both dose groups, along with a small reduction in adjusted testes weight. TBBPA did not alter steroid hormone levels at the fetal stage, but hormones were disrupted in the 16-day-old pups. Here TBBPA increased progesterone levels in low-dose and testosterone levels in high-dose pups and reduced estrone levels in high-dose group to values below the limit of quantification (LOQ). These findings suggest that PFOS and TBBPA have some effects on circulating steroid hormone levels, but minimal effects on androgen-sensitive endpoints in rats.