Oral Administration of Low-Dose Bisphenol A Promotes Proliferation of Ventral Prostate and Upregulates Prostaglandin D2 Synthase Expression in Adult Rats

The study conducted on adult male Sprague Dawley rats demonstrated that low-dose bisphenol A (BPA) treatment, particularly at 10 µg/kg, led to an increase in animal weight and ventral prostate (VP) epithelial height, with a less pronounced effect at higher doses. BPA exposure also altered hormone levels, increasing serum estradiol and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) while decreasing testosterone, thus raising the estrogen to androgen ratio. Immunohistochemistry showed that BPA significantly upregulated proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression in the VP. Gene expression analysis revealed that BPA induced the upregulation of genes, including prostaglandin D₂ synthase (Ptgds), which is involved in DHT production. These findings suggest that low doses of BPA may promote VP proliferation in adult rats by affecting hormone ratios and gene expression, particularly Ptgds.