Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol in mice: Toxicological studies

Abstract

The effect of prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) on the postnatal development of male and female genital tract function was studied. The placental transfer of radiolabeled (³H or ¹⁴C) DES was studied in pregnant mice. DES‐associated radioactivity in the fetal plasma approximated that in maternal plasma #fr1/2> hr after intravenous administration of [³H]DES; ³H activity corresponding to DES in the fetal genital tract was about threefold higher. The decrease in reproductive capacity of female offspring from mice treated with DES during gestation was dose‐related; a low incidence (10% or less) of cancer of the vagina, cervix, and/or uterus was also observed in these mice. Male offspring exposed prenatally to the highest dose (100 μg/kg) of DES in this study also had lower reproductive capacities. Lesions in the genital tract of these mice included epididymal cysts, inflammation, cryptorchidism, and nodular masses in the seminal vesicles and/or prostate gland. Such lesions and sterility were not observed at the lower DES doses. Histological studies with neonatal mice raise the possibility that Müllerian duct tissue may represent a site for the transplacental toxicity of DES in both the male and female fetus.