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Conference abstract2005Peer reviewed

Concentrations in plasma of testosterone, estradiol and LH, and accessory sex gland weights in boars exposed to Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate before puberty

Ljungvall, Karl; Spjuth, Linda; Hulten, Fredrik; Magnusson, Ulf

Abstract

The widely used plastic softener Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) is considered to be an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) in rodents. This study describes the reproductive endocrinology of the boar (n=20) from three weeks of age to seven weeks of age, and the effects of exposure to 300 mg/kg DEHP p.o.(n=20), three times weekly, during the same period. The experiments were conducted in a “split litter”-design, with two full siblings in each group. Blood samples were collected once weekly from three to seven weeks of age and analysed for testosterone, estradiol and LH. At adulthood, eight boars from each group were given an i.v. injection of a synthetic GnRH-analogue, and the concentrations of testosterone and LH were analysed. The accessory sex glands were removed at sacrifice at seven weeks and nine months of age, respectively. In the control animals there was a transient decrease (p<0.05) in the plasma concentration of LH at six weeks of age, which was not evident in the animals exposed to DEHP. In both groups the concentrations of testosterone and estradiol were decreased (p<0.05) during weeks 5-7, compared to the concentrations at week three. The response to GnRH-stimulation was similar in the two groups. At nine months of age the bulbourethral glands were larger (p<0.05) in the DEHP exposed animals than in the control animals. To conclude, there were minor acute effects of DEHP on reproductive endocrinology, and delayed effects on accessory sex organ weights

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ESDAR