Prenatal or lactational exposure of male rats to lead acetate. Effect on reproductive function
- Commissariat a l`Energie Atomique, Bruyeres-le-Chatel (France)
- Commissariat a l`Energie Atomique, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)
- Chu Bicetre, Le Kremlin-Bicetre (France)
Lead is an environmental pollutant which has received much attention, partly because of the particular sensitivity of children to this element. As regards the consequences of exposure to lead during fetal life or childhood, epidemiological studies have so far focused on its neuropsychological effects and little is known about the consequences of fetal or childhood exposure for reproduction. With respect to animals, the reproductive toxicity of lead in males exposed during prenatal life or the suckling period has only been considered in a few studies. Four such studies concerned the rat, the most current model of lead toxicity for male reproduction; two of studies considered the long term effects (i.e. during adulthood) of moderate in utero lead exposure, another covered the prenatal and neonatal periods and focused on the possible impact of lead intoxication on steriodogenesis before weaning, while the remaining study dealt with pituitary hormone level at the end of lead gavage in newborns. None of these investigations compared the effects of exposure during prenatal life to those of exposure via lactation, or the early effects (at about weaning time) to the long-term consequences during adulthood. Because of the paucity of data on these points, we conducted two experiments: in one, rats were exposed to lead prenatally, and in the other via maternal milk. In both cases male reproductive function at weaning and adulthood was examined. 12 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 62493
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 54, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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