Perinatal exposure to xenoestrogens affects pain in adult female rats.
Estrogens have a variety of effects in addition to their action on reproductive structures, including permanent effects on the Central Nervous System (CNS). Therefore environmental chemicals with estrogenic activity (xenoestrogens) can potentially affect a number of CNS functions. In the present experiment, female rats receiving ethynylestradiol (EE) or methoxychlor (MXC) via the mothers during pregnancy (pre) or lactation (post) were tested in comparison with females born from mothers treated with OIL. The Object Recognition, Plantar and Formalin tests were carried out to evaluate the effects of these compounds on integrated functions such as memory and pain. Testosterone and estradiol plasma levels were determined by RIA. The results of the Object Recognition and Plantar tests did not differ among groups. However the groups differed in the Formalin test since flexing duration was higher in the EE- and MXC-pre groups than in the EE- and MXC-post and OIL groups. Estradiol plasma levels were higher in EE-pre than in the other groups. These results confirm the possibility that estrogen-like compounds (EE and MXC) can affect complex neural processes like pain when taken during critical stages of CNS development.
Ceccarelli
Ilaria
I
Dipartimento di Fisiologia, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. iceccarelli@unisi.it
Fiorenzani
Paolo
P
Della Seta
Daniele
D
Massafra
Cosimo
C
Cinci
Giuliano
G
Bocci
Anna
A
Aloisi
Anna Maria
AM
D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D004967:Estrogens / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis; D008731:Methoxychlor / Q000633:toxicity; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004967:Estrogens; C025810:ethinylestradiol-3-sulfate; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D008731:Methoxychlor