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Maternal Exposure to Octylphenol Suppresses Ovine Fetal Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Secretion, Testis Size, and Sertoli Cell Number¹

Department of Animal Husbandry and Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Conway Institute, University College Dublin (T.S., J.F.R.), Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland; and Medical Research Council, Reproductive Biology Unit (L.N.), Edinburgh, United Kingdom EH3 9EW

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. T. Sweeney, Department of Animal Husbandry and Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland. E-mail: tsweeney{at}vetmed.ucd.ie

We have tested the hypothesis that maternal exposure to octylphenol, a putative endocrine disrupting chemical, will suppress gonadotropin secretion with a concomitant decrease in testis size and Sertoli cell number during fetal life in the lamb. In Exp 1, pregnant ewes received a continuous iv infusion of diethylstilbestrol (DES; 50 µg/kg·day), octylphenol (1000 µg/kg·day), or vehicle (1:4, alcohol-saline) from days 110–115 of gestation. The fetuses were chronically catheterized in utero, and blood samples were collected every 8 h to monitor gonadotropin secretion. In Exp 2, pregnant ewes received twice weekly sc injections of DES (0.5 µg/kg·day), octylphenol (1000 µg/kg·day), or corn oil from day 70 of gestation to birth. The pituitary gland and testes were collected from the lambs at the end of the treatment period. In Exp 1, maternal exposure to octylphenol suppressed (P < 0.05) FSH concentrations without any effect (P > 0.05) on LH concentrations compared with those in control fetuses. In Exp 2, long-term maternal exposure to octylphenol or a 1000-fold lower dose of DES suppressed (P < 0.05) FSHß messenger RNA levels and the number of FSHß-immunopositive cells in the pituitary gland and reduced testis weight and the number of Sertoli cells in the testis compared with those in control lambs. We conclude that maternal exposure to octylphenol inhibits the secretion of FSH in the fetus with a concomitant decrease in testis size and Sertoli cell number at birth.

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