Vaginal cyclicity, sexual receptivity, and eating behavior of the female rat following treatment with chlordecone.
The effects of 25, 50, or 75 mg/kg chlordecone on vaginal and behavioral estrus were examined following treatment of intact rats during estrus, diestrus 1, or diestrus 2. Chlordecone accelerated vaginal estrus, but sexual behavior was eliminated, delayed, or reduced. Chlordecone treatment led to the presence of vaginal estrus within 2 days, but reduced or eliminated sexual behavior on the evening of predicted proestrus. Of the females that received chlordecone, 20% to 50% showed some behavior on the day after the evening of predicted proestrus and 20% to 35% never showed behavior during the 8-day observation period. Although the lordosis to mount ratio was still reduced, the occurrence of behavior a day late suggested that the pesticide had delayed behavioral estrus. Chlordecone also rapidly suppressed food intake and led to a significant decline in body weight; these nutritional factors could have contributed to the disrupted estrous cycle. Some support for this possibility was derived from a reduced sexual receptivity on the evening of proestrus when the caloric intake of untreated female rats was matched to that of the chlordecone treated animals. However, the effects of caloric reduction on proestrous lordosis behavior were less robust than seen following chlordecone. Chlordecone treatment on diestrus 2 reduced the number of progesterone receptors in uterine tissue of females on the predicted day of proestrus. This suggested that the tissue sensitivity to circulating levels of progesterone would be reduced within 2 days after chlordecone treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Williams
J
J
Department of Biology, Texas Woman's University, Denton 76204.
Uphouse
L
L
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D007631:Chlordecone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004971:Estrus / Q000187:drug effects*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation / Q000502:physiology; D011187:Posture; D051381:Rats; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000187:drug effects; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D014599:Uterus / Q000187:drug effects
D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D007631:Chlordecone