Effect of natural progesterone treatment during pregnancy on fetal testosterone and sexual behavior of the male offspring in the mouse.
The effect of maternal exposure to progesterone upon the fetal pituitary-gonadal axis and the sexual behavior of the male offspring of mice were studied. Daily injection of progesterone from days 14 to 16 of pregnancy reduced testosterone production in the fetus but caused a significant increase in circulating LH levels. Progesterone-exposed males showed no alteration in anogenital distance or in body weight at any time from birth to adulthood. At 80-90 days of age males from control and progesterone-exposed groups did not differ from each other in testis and seminal vesicle weights. However, in the latter group, there was a marked reduction in the percentage of males that displayed mount, intromission and ejaculation patterns. These findings indicate that in utero exposure to pharmacological doses of progesterone that do not cause abnormalities of male internal and external genitalia may interfere with masculine behavior in adulthood. This alteration could partially be due to diminished peripheral testosterone levels during the prenatal period.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
D013739:Testosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone