Morphological changes of the reticular zone of the cortex of adrenal glands and of the secretory activity of its corticosterocytes in the pubertal period in rats developing at the influence of the endocrinal disrupter dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

Affection of developing organism by endocrine disruptors is an actively studied topic of scientific research in medicine, caused by a progressive increase in the number of diseases and disorders in the development of the reproductive and endocrine systems. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is the most wide-spread endocrine disruptor. Low-dose exposure to DDT disrupts production of sex steroids by poorly known mechanisms. The research was focused on assessment of morphology of adrenal zona reticularis and fine structure of reticularis endocrine cells and changes in their secretory machinery in rats exposed to low doses of DDT during prenatal and postnatal development. The experimental group consisted of the male offspring of dams, who daily consumed solution of o, p-DDT at a concentration of 20 µg/l, from mating until the end of the suckling period in offspring, which then consumed a similar solution of DDT. Daily consumption of DDT by the offspring was 2,90±0,12 µg/kg body weight...