Comparative Effects on Secretion of LH, FSH, Prolactin, and Testosterone by Chronic and Direct Hypothalamic Administration of Nonylphenol to Adult Male Rats

Nonylphenol (NP) is a widespread environmental pollutant that has been shown to exert both toxic and estrogenic effects on mammalian cells. As the effects of NP on the reproductive system of adult male vertebrates are virtually unknown, we investigated not only the changes of reproductive hormone secretion in serum after chronic exposure to NP but also, in order to identify the site of its action, the reproductive hormone secretion in serum 48 hours after microinfusion of NP within hypothalamic preoptic area (POA). In the chronic exposure, the luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone in serum were decreased but prolactin (PRL) concentrations were increased. The LH, FSH, and testosterone in serum were decreased through the direct infusion of NP into POA, while there was no difference in mean serum prolactin between NP and control groups. These observations suggest that NP as endocrine disruptor has modulatory effects on hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis and that the site of action of NP could be hypothalamic POA.