DEVELOPMENTAL EXPOSURE TO ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR DDT ALTERS PARAMETERS OF SEX STEROID PRODUCTION IN MALE RATS

Abstract

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is the most widespread systemic pollutant and endocrine disruptor. The effect of prenatal and postnatal exposure to DDT in low doses corresponding to human dietary intake of DDT, considering maximum allowable levels of DDT in food, on the synthesis parameters of male sex hormones in the gonads and adrenal glands of mature male rats was studied. It has been found that after maturation, a reduced level of total testosterone and androstenedione in blood serum is observed in male rats. An investigation into the mechanisms of decreased synthesis of sex hormones showed that rats exposed to low doses of DDT in ontogeny show higher levels of progesterone and reduced levels of 17-oxyprogesterone, a direct precursor of androgen synthesis. Thus, exposure of the developing organism to low doses of DDT did not affect progesterone synthesis, but decreased its hydroxylation, which resulted in progesterone accumulation in the systemic bloodstream and decreased production of male sex hormones in both testes and adrenal glands of male rats. The data obtained in the present study demonstrate for the first time a new mechanism of anti-androgenic action of the endocrine disruptor DDT.