Long-term effects on male reproductive organs of prenatal exposure to ethinyl estradiol.
The effects of oral contraceptives on human offspring have not been established. This study shows the long-term effects of prenatal exposure to ethinyl estradiol, a common estrogenic component of oral contraceptives, on the testes and epididymides of aged mice. Five (83%) of the six aged male mice examined showed atrophy of seminiferous tubules, four (67%) had Leydig's cell hyperplasia, and one (17%) had precancerous changes in the epididymis. These phenomena may be results of decreases in testosterone content and its drastic conversion into estradiol-17 beta in the fetal testes at critical periods induced by ethinyl estradiol.
Yasuda
Y
Y
Department of Anatomy, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Ohara
I
I
Konishi
H
H
Tanimura
T
T
D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy; D004822:Epididymis / Q000473:pathology; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000187:drug effects*; D007985:Leydig Cells / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008679:Metaplasia; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
D013739:Testosterone; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol