Sexual behavior of intact female rats after treatment with o,p'-DDT or p,p'-DDT.
Sexual behavior of adult, female rats was tested following treatment with o,p'-DDT or with p,p'-DDT during either diestrus or proestrus. Both chlorinated compounds decreased lordosis behavior, but o,p'-DDT did so only after treatment on diestrus. p,p'-DDT in contrast, decreased sexual behavior under all treatment conditions. o,p'-DDT may have altered behavior by disrupting the estrous cycle while p,p'-DDT had a major effect on the female's proceptivity and receptivity without modifying vaginal cyclicity. p,p'-DDT disrupted sexual behavior at doses as low as 25 mg/kg while 100 to 200 mg/kg o,p'-DDT were required. Since commercially prepared DDT contained a predominant proportion of p,p'-DDT, these results suggest that many reproductive effects of DDT may have resulted from p,p'-DDT rather than from o,p'-DDT.
Uphouse
L
L
Department of Biology, Texas Woman's University, Denton 76204.
Williams
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001667:Binding, Competitive / Q000187:drug effects; D003634:DDT / Q000633:toxicity*; D004031:Diestrus / Q000502:physiology; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007536:Isomerism; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000633:toxicity*; D011187:Posture; D011359:Proestrus / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D014202:Tremor / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology
D010573:Pesticide Residues; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D004958:Estradiol; D003634:DDT; C016340:o,p'-DDT