Introduction: Huge amounts of bisphenol A (BPA) are manufactured all over the world. The prostate is the major accessory
sex gland of mammalian males. BPA can be toxic to prostatic tissues.
Objectives: Investigate the impact of BPA on the prostate gland of adult male albino rats and the possibility of recovery.
Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male albino rats (180-220 g) were assigned into three groups. Control group: received
1mL of corn oil via gavage once daily for 8 weeks; BPA group: given 50 mg/kg of BPA in 1mL corn oil orally/ day for 8 weeks;
Recovery group: given BPA the same manner as in BPA group and held without treatment for another 4 weeks. At the end of
the study, blood was collected to measure serum testosterone. The prostate gland was removed and prepared for histological
and immunohistochemical analysis.
Results: In the BPA group, the testosterone level dropped significantly. Irregularity of prostatic acini; thickening, and
hyperplasia of the prostatic epithelium; abundant stroma with congested blood vessels were seen in hematoxylin and eosin
(H&E)-stained sections. Morphometry revealed that the epithelial height, number of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)
positive cells, and the area percentage of collagen were significantly higher while the acinar surface area, acinar perimeter,
and the optical density (OD) of androgen receptors (AR) in epithelial cells were significantly lower. These changes partially
resolved after stopping BPA treatment.
Conclusion: The Prostate gland of adult rats can partially recover from the harmful impacts of bisphenol A.