Ethylene Dichloride Disruption of Fertility in Male Mice

Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is a high use compound in chemical industry today. Although a potent alkylating agent and carcinogen, EDC has not been associated previously with adverse fertility consequences. Intraperitoneal 5 to 40 mg/kg once a day for five days in C57BL/6 mice rendered males infertile for 6 months and longer. Two of three mice treated with EDC at 5 mg/kg recovered to fertility after a 3 and 5-week sterile period, respectively. Significant testicular pathology was evident within 8 days post treatment with EDC, which progressed to resemble Sertoli Cell-Only syndrome. Although the observed effects on Leydig cell populations were equivocal, a precipitous loss of spermatogonia was evident with increasing time post EDC treatment for mice dosed with either 5 or 10 mg/kg of EDC. These results suggest that intraperitoneal EDC adversely impacts the testes and spermatogenesis in mice.