Comparison of the effect of DDE on the Ca metabolism of the eggshell gland and its subcellular fractions of the duck and the domestic fowl.
In a strain of ducks sensitive to the eggshell-thinning effect of p-p'-DDE, administration of 40 mg kg of the compound in the food for 45 days reduced the eggshell index (EI) by 13% and the content of calcium in the fluid of the shell gland forming an eggshell by 36%, and raised the calcium content of the shell gland mucosa by 19%, compared with the control values. DDE inhibited the translocation (secretion) of calcium between the gland mucosa and the uterine cavity. The ATP-dependent binding of Ca2+ to the subcellular fractions of the gland mucosa was reduced in DDE-treated ducks. The Ca2+ binding to a microsomal subfraction (FI) rich in fragments of the plasma membrane was reduced by 16%, whereas that to a subfraction FIII which bound Ca2+ at a very high rate was reduced by 36%. The latter may contain calcium-secreting granules of the gland. In the mitochondrial fraction the Ca2+ binding was reduced by 35%. In the domestic fowl DDE did not lower EI or interfered with the translocation of calcium between the shell gland mucosa and uterine cavity. DDE administration increased the Ca2+ binding to FI by 26%; the binding to other subfractions was not changed significantly. DDE may interfere with the stimulus-secretion mechanism of the eggshell gland in ducks through its effect on Ca2+ binding.
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004372:Ducks / Q000378:metabolism*; D004528:Egg Shell / Q000032:analysis*; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism
D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D002118:Calcium