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ToxSci Advance Access published online on September 16, 2004
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfh277
Toxicological Sciences © Society of Toxicology 2004; all rights reserved
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Received May 21, 2004
Accepted August 26, 2004

Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology

Exposure to Trichloroethylene and Its Metabolites Causes Impairment of Sperm Fertilizing Ability in Mice

Hongbin Xu 1, Nongnuj Tanphaichitr 2, Poh-Gek Forkert 3, Araya Anupriwan 1, Wattana Weerachatyanukul 1, Renaud Vincent 4, Arthur Leader 5, and Michael G. Wade 4*

1 Ottawa Health Research Institute, Hormones, Growth, Development, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4E9; Department of Biochemistry/Microbiology/Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4E9
2 Ottawa Health Research Institute, Hormones, Growth, Development, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4E9; Department of Biochemistry/Microbiology/Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4E9; The Ottawa Hospital, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 1J8
3 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
4 Environmental Health Research Division, Health Canada, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0L2
5 The Ottawa Hospital, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 1J8

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Mike_Wade{at}hc-sc.gc.ca.


  Abstract

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a prevalent occupational and environmental contaminant that has been reported to cause a variety of toxic effects. Here, we have undertaken studies to test the hypothesis that TCE exposure adversely affects sperm function and fertilization. Sperm retrieved from mice exposed to TCE (1000 ppm) by inhalation for 1 to 6 weeks were incubated in vitro with eggs isolated from superovulated female mice. The number of sperm bound per egg was significantly decreased when mice were exposed to TCE for 2 and 6 weeks but not at exposures of 1 and 4 weeks. In vivo fertilization was also determined in superovulated female mice mated with males exposed to TCE for 2 to 6 weeks. The percentages of eggs fertilized, as assessed by the presence of two pronuclei, were significantly decreased after 2 and 6 weeks of TCE exposure. A slight but insignificant decrease was observed after 4 weeks of TCE exposure. The direct effects of TCE and its metabolites, chloral hydrate (CH) and trichloroethanol (TCOH), on in vitro sperm-egg binding were also investigated. Sperm-egg binding was significantly decreased when sperm were pretreated with CH (0.1 to 10 µg/ml). Significantly lower levels of sperm-egg binding were also detected with TCOH (0.1 to 10 µg/ml), although the decreases were not as pronounced as those for CH. These results showed that TCE exposure leads to impairment of sperm fertilizing ability, which may be attributed to TCE metabolites, CH and TCOH.

Keywords: trichloroethylene; chloral hydrate; fertilization; sperm-egg binding; trichloroethanol.
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