Skip Navigation



ToxSci Advance Access published online on June 14, 2007
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfm160
This Article
Right arrow Advance Access manuscript (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
99/1/234    most recent
kfm160v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Delbès, G.
Right arrow Articles by Levacher, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Delbès, G.
Right arrow Articles by Levacher, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Developmental Changes in Testicular Sensitivity to Estrogens Throughout Fetal and Neonatal life

Géraldine Delbès1, Clotilde Duquenne1, Jessica Szencker1, Julie Taccoen1, René Habert1 and Christine Levacher1

1 Laboratory of Differentiation and Radiobiology of the Gonads, Unit of Gametogenesis and Genotoxicity, Unité Mixte de Recherche-S 566, Université Denis Diderot-Paris 7, F-92265, Fontenay aux Roses, France; CEA, DSV/IRCM/SCSR/LDRG, F-92265, Fontenay aux Roses, France; INSERM, Unité 566, F-92265, Fontenay aux Roses, France

Correspondence: Dr Christine LEVACHER, LDRG/SCSR/IRCM /DSV, Centre CEA, BP6, F-92265, Fontenay aux Roses, France, Tel: 33 1 46 54 99 12, Fax: 33 1 46 54 99 06, E-mail: christine.levacher{at}cea.fr

Received April 6, 2007; revision received June 11, 2007; accepted June 11, 2007


  Abstract

There is now compelling evidence that inappropriate exposure to estrogen during fetal or neonatal life could affect adult reproductive functions because the testis is sensitive to estrogens during specific periods of its development. Therefore we investigated the effects of exogenous estrogens on gametogenesis and steroidogenesis during fetal and neonatal testicular development in the rat. We used in vitro systems, organ cultures and dispersed testicular cell cultures, which allow the development of fetal and neonatal germ cells (gonocytes) and Leydig cells. Exogenous estrogens inhibited testosterone production in dispersed testicular cell cultures throughout fetal life, but this inhibition was observed only in the early fetal stages in organ culture. By using an aromatase inhibitor (letrozole, Novartis), we showed that the inhibitory effect of exogenous estrogens on testosterone production is masked in the whole testis at later stages (20.5 dpc) due essentially to local production of estrogens. In both systems, additions of high concentrations (10-6 M) of 17ß-estradiol (E2) or diethylstilbestrol (DES) decreased the number of gonocytes during the first fetal proliferative period, but not during the neonatal period. Letrozole was without effect, suggesting that the aging-related loss of responsiveness of gonocytes is not due to any aromatase activity in the gonocytes.

Key Words: testis development; fetus; neonate; gonocyte; Leydig; testosterone; estrogen.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Toxicol SciHome page
A. Lehraiki, C. Racine, A. Krust, R. Habert, and C. Levacher
Phthalates Impair Germ Cell Number in the Mouse Fetal Testis by an Androgen- and Estrogen-Independent Mechanism
Toxicol. Sci., October 1, 2009; 111(2): 372 - 382.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Toxicol SciHome page
D. R. Bell, S. Clode, M. Q. Fan, A. Fernandes, P. M. D. Foster, T. Jiang, G. Loizou, A. MacNicoll, B. G. Miller, M. Rose, et al.
Toxicity of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in the Developing Male Wistar(Han) Rat. I: No Decrease in Epididymal Sperm Count after a Single Acute Dose
Toxicol. Sci., September 1, 2007; 99(1): 214 - 223.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.