Abstract | BACKGROUND:
Vinclozolin is a fungicide that has been reported to have anti-androgenic effects in rats. We have found that in utero exposure to natural or synthetic progesterones can induce hypospadias in mice, and that the synthetic progesterone medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) feminizes male and virilizes female genital tubercles. In the current work, we selected a relatively low dose of vinclozolin to examine its in utero effects on the development of the genital tubercle, both at the morphological and molecular levels. METHODS: We gave pregnant dams vinclozolin by oral gavage from gestational days 13 through 17. We assessed the fetal genital tubercles from exposed fetuses at E19 to determine location of the urethral opening. After determination of gonadal sex, either genital tubercles were harvested for mRNA quantitation, or urethras were injected with a plastic resin for casting. We analyzed quantified mRNA levels between treated and untreated animals for mRNA levels of estrogen receptors alpha and beta, progesterone receptor, and androgen receptor using nonparametric tests or ANOVA. To determine effects on urethral length (males have long urethras compared to females), we measured the lengths of the casts and performed ANOVA analysis on these data. RESULTS: CONCLUSION:
|
Authors | Jill Buckley, Emily Willingham, Koray Agras, Laurence S Baskin |
Journal | Environmental health : a global access science source
(Environ Health)
Vol. 5
Pg. 4
(Feb 21 2006)
ISSN: 1476-069X [Electronic] England |
PMID | 16504050
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
|
Chemical References |
- Androgen Antagonists
- Fungicides, Industrial
- Oxazoles
- RNA, Messenger
- vinclozolin
|
Topics |
- Analysis of Variance
- Androgen Antagonists
(toxicity)
- Animals
- Female
- Fetus
(drug effects)
- Fungicides, Industrial
(administration & dosage, toxicity)
- Gestational Age
- Hypospadias
(chemically induced)
- Male
- Mice
- Oxazoles
(administration & dosage, toxicity)
- Pregnancy
- RNA, Messenger
(analysis, drug effects)
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Statistics, Nonparametric
- Urethra
(drug effects)
- Virilism
(chemically induced)
|