Abstract
Effects of maternal exposure to nonylphenol (NP) on growth and development of the female reproductive system and uterine carcinogenesis in Donryu rats were investigated. Dams were administered 0, 0.1, 10 or 100 mg/kg NP daily by gavage from gestation day 2 up to the day before weaning. The treatment with NP did not influence the reproductive ability of the dams. In their female offspring, there were no significant effects on the reproductive system such as uterine growth and development, vaginal opening, and hormonal secretion until puberty. Moreover, NP had no apparent influence on estrous cyclicity after maturation, morphology of the reproductive organs, and uterine carcinogenesis initiated by N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Regarding biotransfer of NP, the chemical was detected at low levels in the milk of dams given NP at 10 and 100 mg/kg/day in a dose-dependent manner, but not in the serum. In the offspring also, NP was not detected in the liver in any of the treated groups. Taken together, maternal exposure of rats to 0.1 - 100 mg/kg NP did not have any effects on the female reproductive system of offspring from puberty up to 15 months of age. NP at 10 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg doses was transferred from dams to their offspring via the milk, but with these doses no accumulate in the liver of offspring was evident.
