Perfluorododecanoic Acid-Induced Steroidogenic Inhibition is Associated with Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein and Reactive Oxygen Species in cAMP-Stimulated Leydig Cells

Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) can be detected in environ-mental matrices and human serum and has been shown to inhibit testicular steroidogenesis in rats. However, the mechanisms that are responsible for the toxic effects of PFDoA remain unknown. The aims of this study were to investigate the mechanism of steroidogenesis inhibition by PFDoA and to identify the molecular target of PFDoA in Leydig cells. The effects of PFDoA on steroid synthesis in Leydig cells were assessed by radioimmunoassay. The expression of key genes and proteins in steroid biosynthesis was determined by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels were determined using bioluminescence assays. PFDoA inhibited adenosine 3#,5#-cyclophosphate (cAMP)-stimulated steroidogene-sis in mouse Leydig tumor cells (mLTC-1) and primary rat Leydig cells in a dose-dependent manner. However, PFDoA (1–100mM