Evidence of hypothalamic involvement in the mechanism of transplacental carcinogenesis by diethylstilbestrol.
Disruption of hypothalamic sex differentiation in the fetus is one hypothesis to explain female reproductive system anomalies and cancer arising from prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES). To further test this hypothesis, breeding performance and behavior were monitored in a colony of mice exposed prenatally to DES, using a schedule previously shown to produce anomalies and cancer of the female reproductive system. Fertility decreased with age more rapidly in DES-exposed females than in control females. DES-exposed females were less accepting of the male than control females. These observations support the hypothesis of abnormal hypothalamic sex differentiation as a basic mechanism in DES transplacental carcinogenesis.
Smith
D A
DA
Anatomy Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824-1316.
Walker
B E
BE
D000818:Animals; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D051379:Mice; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects
D004054:Diethylstilbestrol