Sex ratio of the offspring of Sprague–Dawley rats exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) in utero and lactationally in a three-generation study

• Published in: Toxicology and applied pharmacology 2006-10, Vol.216 (1), p.29-33
• Main Authors: Rowlands, J.C., Budinsky, R.A., Aylward, L.L., Faqi, A.S., Carney, E.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; CHILDREN; Developmental and reproductive effects; DIET; DIOXIN; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Fertility - drug effects; LABORATORY ANIMALS; Lactation - drug effects; Lactation - physiology; Maternal Exposure - adverse effects; Medical sciences; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - administration & dosage; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - toxicity; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - physiopathology; PROGENY; RATS; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; REPRODUCTION; Risk Assessment; SEX RATIO; TCDD; Teratogens - toxicity; Toxicology
• ISSN: 0041-008X; 1096-0333
• DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2006.04.003

Reports of a decreased male/female sex ratio in children born to males exposed to TCDD in Seveso, Italy, at a young age have sparked examinations of this endpoint in other populations exposed to TCDD or related compounds. Overall, the male/female sex ratio results reported in these studies, with slightly different age-exposed male populations, have shown mixed results. Experimental studies of the effects of in utero exposure to TCDD in laboratory animals have reported no effect on the f 1 sex ratio and mixed results for the sex ratio of the f 2 generation. In order to better understand the potential effects of TCDD on second generation sex ratio, we retrieved archived data from a comprehensive three-generation feeding study of TCDD in rats that was conducted and published in the 1970s, but which did not publish data on sex ratio of the offspring [Murray, F.J., Smith, F.A., Nitschke, K.D., Humiston, C.G., Kociba, R.J., Schwetz, B.A., 1979. Three-generation reproduction study of rats given 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) in the diet. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 50, 241–252]. A re-examination of the original Murray et al. data found no statistically significant treatment-related changes in postnatal day 1 sex ratio in any generation of treated animals, consistent with one other relatively large study reporting on this endpoint. We discuss mechanistic data underlying a potential effect of TCDD on this endpoint. We conclude that the inconsistency in findings on sex ratio of the offspring of male rats exposed to TCDD in utero is likely due to random variation associated with a relatively small sample size, although differences between studies in strain of rat, dose regimen, and day of ascertainment of sex ratio cannot be ruled out.