Intergenerational Effects of Neonicotinoid Thiacloprid in Murine Prostate Tissue Are Associated with Epigenetic Alterations in Homeobox Hox Genes

Neonicotinoids are widely used pesticides that have caused a catastrophic decrease in bee and bumblebee populations worldwide. In addition to insects, neonicotinoids induce toxic effects in other species, including lizards, birds, and mammals. Previous studies have shown that gestational exposure to thiacloprid promotes transgenerational effects in the testes and thyroid. In this project, we described the epigenetic effects of thiacloprid on prostate tissue in directly exposed F1 and non-directly exposed F3 outbred Swiss male mice. We used paraffin sections for morphological analysis and frozen tissue for immunofluorescence analysis, RT–qPCR, and protein analysis. We purified histones and analyzed them through Western blot. We used ChIP–qPCR for histone H3K4me3 occupancy analysis. A tendency to increase in epithelial hyperplasia in F1 but not in F3 prostate was detected. Elevated levels of phosphorylated histone H3 at serine 10, a marker of mitosis, in both the F1 and F3 prostates were noted. A significant increase in the level of the Ki-67 marker of proliferation was detected in the F1 but not in the F3 anterior prostate. Hox gene expression was upregulated in the F1 and downregulated in the F3 prostate. The changes in gene expression were positively associated with histone H3K4me3 alterations at the promoters of the Hoxa and Hoxb13 genes. We determined that regions of Hox genes that play important roles in prostate development had altered DNA methylation in the sperm of F1 and F3. These alterations in DNA methylation were negatively related to gene expression. This is an observational study, as it was part of our previous research on the effects of thiacloprid on the testis and thyroid. Our analysis revealed that gestational exposure to thiacloprid induced an increase in cell proliferation in the prostates of directly exposed F1. Some persistent epigenetic alterations in the prostate of F3 males were not associated with phenotypic changes.