| Title: | The effects of prenatal PCBs on adult female paced mating reproductive behaviors in rats |
| Author(s): | Steinberg RM; Juenger TE; Gore AC; |
| Address: | "The Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.12.004 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0018-506X (Print) 1095-6867 (Electronic) 0018-506X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a family of toxicants that persist in measurable quantities in human and wildlife tissues, despite their ban in production in 1977. Some PCB mixtures can act as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) by mimicking or antagonizing the actions of hormones in the brain and periphery. When exposure to hormonally active substances such as PCBs occurs during vulnerable developmental periods, particularly prenatally or in early postnatal life, they can disrupt sex-specific patterning of the brain, inducing permanent changes that can later be manifested as improper sexual behaviors. Here, we investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to the PCB mixture Aroclor (A) 1221 on adult female reproductive behaviors in a dose-response model in the Sprague-Dawley rat. Using a paced mating paradigm that permits the female to set the timing of mating and control contact with the male during copulation, we were able to uncover significant differences in female-typical sexual activities in A1221-exposed females. Specifically, A1221 causes significant effects on mating trial pacing, vocalizations, ambulation and the female's likelihood to mate. The results further demonstrate that the intermediate treatment group has the greatest number of disrupted endpoints, suggestive of non-linear dose responses to A1221. These data demonstrate that the behavioral phenotype in adulthood is disrupted by low, ecologically relevant exposures to PCBs, and the results have implications for reproductive success and health in wildlife and women" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Aroclors/toxicity Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Endocrine Disruptors/toxicity Female Humans Male Models, Animal Polychlorinated Biphenyls/*toxicity Pregnancy *Pregnancy, Animal *Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects Rats Rats, Sprague-Dawley Reprod;neuroscience;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineSteinberg, Rebecca M Juenger, Thomas E Gore, Andrea C eng R21 ES012272/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ ES12272/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ P30 ES007784/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R21 ES012272-03/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ ES07784/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ Evaluation Study Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2007/02/06 Horm Behav. 2007 Mar; 51(3):364-72. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.12.004. Epub 2006 Dec 22" |
