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PubMedDate not supplied

Prenatal melatonin exposure influences the maturation of gonadotropin and prolactin estradiol-benzoate feedback system.

Gonadotropin and prolactin response to estrogen feedback in female rat offspring of control and melatonin treated (150 microg/100 g BW) mother rats during pregnancy (MEL-offspring) were studied at these periods: infantile, prepubertal and pubertal. In controls negative or absent LH feedback developed after estradiol benzoate (EB) injection up to 30 days of age indicating that the onset of puberty had not occurred. The positive feedback was established from day 33 on. However, in MEL-offspring the first activation of gonadotropin secretion during afternoon, 31 h after EB, was observed at 25 days of age, representing the first neuroendocrine sign of the onset of puberty. This positive response disappeared on day 30 in MEL-offspring. At 33 days of age, the LH positive response to EB was found in both groups, indicating a more advanced sexual development. In controls, this response increased at 35 days of age while in MEL-offspring it was highly depressed. FSH secretion in response to EB showed a negative feedback effect from infantile to the end of prepubertal period in both groups. The positive feedback was observed earlier in MEL-offspring (at 33 days of age) than in controls (at 35 days of age), but at this age it was absent in MEL-offspring. A positive prolactin response to EB at all ages in controls was observed. The typical pulsatility with higher values in the afternoon appeared by the first time at 30 days of age. However, in MEL-offspring no pulsatile response was observed throughout any age. These data suggest that prenatal melatonin administration altered gonadotropin and prolactin response to EB inducing precocious sensitivity during prepubertal period but depressed response during the pubertal period.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Endocrinologic function following cranial irradiation in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood].

Endocrinological function was evaluated in 31 children after successful treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. All patients had received combination chemotherapy and 12-24Gy of cranial irradiation according to the German therapy protocols BFM-81, BFM-83 and BFM-86. Height, weight, bone age and pubertal development, as well as hypothalamic-pituitary function were measured. Long-term linear growth was unaffected in all patients. However, 9 patients showed subnormal serum growth hormone levels in response to pharmacological stimulation of the pituitary. All patients had normal levels of T3 and T4, but one patient showed an increased response of thyrotropin to thyrotropin releasing hormone. All prepubertal and postpubertal children demonstrated appropriate secretion of follicle-stimulation hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) after stimulation with LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH). 3 pubertal girls showed adequate oestradiol levels, but abnormally high levels of gonadotropins in response to LH-RH. Sexual development was normal in two of them, but the third had a late menarche and irregular menses. The significance of these findings is discussed in the context of recommendations possibly to further reduce or completely delete prophylactic cranial irradiation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Pelvic ultrasonography in patients with Turner syndrome: age-related findings in different karyotypes.

Real-time ultrasonography was performed in 142 patients with Turner syndrome, aged 0.57 to 21 years, with different karyotypes (45,X [4896], X mosaicism [17%], and X structural abnormalities [35%]). Ovarian and uterine volumes were calculated and the data collected in a mixed longitudinal and cross-sectional mode. Thirty-eight patients were followed longitudinally during pubertal age (10 to 18 years bone age) for ovarian data. Patients with Turner syndrome were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of detectable ovaries. Patients with Turner syndrome with detectable ovaries showed the first increase in ovarian volume at about 9 years of bone age; this increase was continuous and more evident only after 14 years of age and appeared later than in control subjects. When followed longitudinally during puberty, the ovaries showed a hormonal function in some cases. Girls with X mosaicism had the highest percentage of bilateral detectable ovaries and the greatest total ovarian volume; about 50% of them had spontaneous breast appearance and 38.5% had spontaneous menarche. They showed also the lowest gonadotropin levels, when bilateral ovaries were present during puberty. On the contrary, patients with the 45,X karyotype had the lowest percentage of detectable ovaries, ovarian volume, and spontaneous breast appearance. In our patients with Turner syndrome, uterine measures increased significantly with age and this was more evident in subjects with detectable ovaries after 13 years of bone age. Compared with control subjects, they showed significantly lower uterine measures, and patients with X mosaicism had greater and more progressive increments. In conclusion, pelvic ultrasonography in Turner syndrome is particularly useful in detecting ovaries and their possible increase in volume. These data, linked with karyotype pattern and gonadotropin levels, have prognostic value in predicting the future sexual development of these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Adiposity and growth: relationship of stature at fourteen years with relative body weight at different ages and several measures of adiposity and body bulk.

A non-probabilistic sample of 354 healthy adolescents (182 boys and 172 girls) with ages ranging from 13.6 to 14.5 years was studied. Measurements of mid-arm muscle, thigh and leg circumferences, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, and records of body weight and height at one, four, six and twelve years of age were available. The sexual maturation stage of all subjects was also determined. Height at fourteen years was found to be significantly associated with relative body weight at different ages in both sexes, and particularly with the relative weight at twelve months. Height is more strongly related with indicators of lean body mass than with indicators of adiposity, especially in boys. The stage of sexual development is also an important determinant of stature at fourteen years of age. The results seem to support the hypothesis that the same factors which increase fat deposition, contribute to increase lean tissues and linear growth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Estrogen inhibition of Mullerian inhibiting substance in the chick embryo.

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) feminizes the embryonic chick testes and causes retention of the Mullerian duct, an observation made by Etienne Wolff in 1939. The present study was designed to determine if the feminized testis could produce Mullerian Inhibiting Substance (MIS). DES in various doses was injected into the air sac or yolk of 5-day chick embryos, with removal of the gonads at 13-16 days of incubation. That the DES-treated testis was feminized was documented by the development of a left "ovarian" cortex, yet this gonad continued to produce MIS as estimated by a graded organ-culture assay. The male chick Mullerian ducts, exposed to both endogenous MIS and exogenous estrogen (DES), however, were preserved, indicating that the Mullerian duct retention seen in DES-treated embryos was not caused by suppression of MIS secretion. These data support the hypothesis that MIS and estrogens interact at the target-organ (i.e., Mullerian duct), resulting in Mullerian duct retention. The implications of this hypothesis for mammalian sexual development especially in regard to the effect of DES-treatment on male fetuses, and the possible role of MIS and estrogens in testicular descent are considered.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Changes in light intensity can influence age at sexual maturity in domestic pullets.

1. Shaver White and ISA Brown pullets were reared to 140 d in groups of 8 in cages on a 10-h photoperiod of incandescent light and maintained at an illuminance of 3 or 25 lux, or transferred from 3 to 25 lux or from 25 to 3 lux at 63 or 112 d of age. 2. There was no significant difference in sexual maturity, measured as eggs per 100 bird.d at 139 and 140 d, for ISA Brown maintained on 3 or 25 lux, but Shaver White pullets exposed to constant 3 lux matured significantly later than those maintained on 25 lux. 3. In Shaver Whites, sexual maturity was significantly delayed by an increase from 3 to 25 lux at 63 and 112 d, and advanced by a decrease from 25 to 3 lux at 112 d. Sexual maturity of ISA Browns was not significantly affected by a change in illuminance at 63 or 112 d, though responses were in the same direction as for Shaver Whites. 4. In both breeds, total feed consumed to 112 d was higher for birds on 3 lux than 25 lux, but lower between 112 d and 140 d when birds on 25 lux underwent rapid sexual development. In both breeds, body weight at 63 d was higher for birds exposed to 3 lux than 25 lux, but body weight gain thereafter was similar for the two light intensities. 5. In both breeds, plasma luteinising hormone (LH) concentration at 63 and 112 d was lower in birds maintained on 3 lux than 25 lux. At 63 and 112 d, transfers from 25 to 3 lux depressed, whereas transfers from 3 to 25 lux at 63 d, but not at 112 d, increased plasma LH. 6. Advances or delays in sexual maturity induced by changes in illuminance were not correlated with differences in feed intake, body weight gain, or with changes in plasma LH. 7. One possible explanation for the inverse relationship between the direction of change in illuminance at 63 and 112 d in pullets exposed to a 10-h photoperiod and the age at which they became sexually mature is that changes in light intensity and/or spectral composition affect the entrainment of the circadian rhythm of photoinducibility, to effect a phase shift in the photoinducible phase and/or the responsiveness of phototransduction pathways.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Best practice guidelines for the management of women with epilepsy.

Being a woman with epilepsy is not the same as being a man with epilepsy. Epilepsy affects sexual development, menstrual cycle, aspects of contraception, fertility, and reproduction. MENSTRUAL CYCLE, EPILEPSY, AND FERTILITY: The diagnosis of epilepsy and the use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) present women of childbearing age with many problems; both the disease and its treatment can alter the menstrual cycle and fertility. CONTRACEPTION IN EPILEPSY: There are no contraindications to the use of nonhormonal methods of contraception in women with epilepsy (see Table 3). Nonenzyme-inducing AEDs (valproate sodium, benzodiazepines, ethosuximide, and levetiracetam) do not show any interactions with the combined oral contraceptive pill. There are interactions between the COCP and hepatic microsomal-inducing AEDs (phenytoin, barbiturates, carbamazepine, topiramate [doses above 200 mg/day], and oxcarbazepine) and also lamotrigine. SEXUALITY: The majority of women with epilepsy appear to have normal sex lives, although in some women with epilepsy, both the desire and arousal phases may be inhibited. PRECONCEPTION COUNSELING: Preconception counseling should be available to all women with epilepsy who are considering pregnancy. Women with epilepsy should be aware of a number of issues relating to future pregnancy, including methods and consequences of prenatal screening, genetics of their seizure disorder, teratogenicity of AEDs, folic acid and vitamin K supplements, labor, breast feeding, and childcare. PREGNANCY: The lowest effective dose of the most appropriate AED should be used, aiming for monotherapy where possible. Recent pregnancy databases have suggested that valproate is significantly more teratogenic than carbamazepine, and the combination of valproate sodium and lamotrigine is particularly teratogenic. Most pregnancies are uneventful in women with epilepsy, and most babies are delivered healthy with no increased risk of obstetric complications in women. BREAST FEEDING: All women with epilepsy should be encouraged to breastfeed their babies. The AED concentration profiled in breast milk follows the plasma concentration curve. The total amount of drug transferred to infants via breast milk is usually much smaller than the amount transferred via the placenta during pregnancy. However, as drug elimination mechanisms are not fully developed in early infancy, repeated administration of a drug such as lamotrigine via breast milk may lead to accumulation in the infant. THE CARE OF CHILDREN OF MOTHERS WITH EPILEPSY: Although there is much anxiety about the possible risks to a child from the mother's epilepsy, there is little published evidence. The risk of the child being harmed depends on the type of seizure and its severity and frequency, and this risk is probably small if time is taken to train mothers and caregivers in safety precautions. MENOPAUSE: During menopause, about 40% of women report worsening of their seizure disorder, 27% improve, and a third had no change. Hormone replacement therapy is significantly associated with an increase in seizure frequency during menopause, and this is more likely in women with a history of catamenial epilepsy. BONE HEALTH: Women with epilepsy are at increased risk of fractures, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Lack of developmental neurotoxicity of MN rgp 120/HIV-1 administered subcutaneously to neonatal rats.

The potential for neurotoxic effects was evaluated in rat off-spring after exposure in utero and/or during the neonatal period to a recombinant subunit vaccine of gp120 prepared from the MN strain of HIV-1 (MN rgp 120/HIV-1). Thirty pregnant female rats were given MN rgp120/HIV-1 with alum adjuvant, and 30 rats were given vehicle, once every 3 days from Day 1 of presumed gestation until parturition. One pup/sex/litter from treated and control group dams were given a daily subcutaneous injection, from Day 1 through Day 22 postpartum (PP) of vehicle, MN rgp120/HIV-1, MN rgp120/HIV-1 with alum, or MN rgp120/HIV-1 with QS-21 adjuvant. Neurobehavioral and physical development were evaluated (preweaning reflex and development, sexual maturation, motor activity, acoustic startle, passive avoidance, functional observational battery, and water M-maze testing), and tissues were processed for anatomical examination (whole and regional brain weights, and neuropathology). Administration of MN rgp120/HIV-1, with or without adjuvant, to pups did not cause any persistent effect on any parameter evaluated. Neurohistological examination did not reveal any pathological effects related to treatment. Thus, MN rgp120/HIV-1 alone or formulated as a vaccine does not cause neurotoxicity or developmental toxicity in neonatal rats after exposure in utero and/or during the neonatal period.

AIDS Vaccines↗
PubMed2000

Sexual swellings in female hamadryas baboons after male take-overs: "deceptive" swellings as a possible female counter-strategy against infanticide.

In many primate species, male intanticide is assumed to pose a serious risk for infants, and therefore female counter-strategies are expected. These counter-strategies may include changes in the females' reproductive behavior and physiology, e.g., mating with multiple males and prolonged receptivity. Since the risk of infanticide is particularly high when a new male enters the group or when a male rises in rank, we studied the changes in female reproductive conditions, e.g., post-partum amenorrhea and interbirth intervals, following group take-overs by new males in a captive group of hamadryas baboons (Papio h. hamadryas). Following take-overs, five out of six lactating females immediately developed sexual swellings, thus shortening their post-partum amenorrhea. However, none of these females conceived during the first cycles after the take-over, their reproduction was not accelerated, and four out of five dependent infants survived. Thus, interbirth intervals did not decrease compared to times with no group take-overs. We therefore suggest that these situation-dependent swellings are used by female hamadryas baboons as a counter-strategy to reduce the risk of infanticide, which exists in this species after male take-overs. By offering new males mating opportunities without allowing them to reproduce, females may increase their infants' probability of survival and at the same time avoid the costs of being pregnant and lactating simultaneously.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

TSH secretion in thalassemia.

Thyroid function has been evaluated in 6 prepubertal male and 9 female thalassemic patients. Four of the latter were sexually immature (Group I), with very low estradiol levels and the remainder had more advanced sexual development (Group II). Subjects were challenged with TRH and the response compared to adult controls and a group of 15 males aged 13-18 years with constitutional delayed adolescence. All patient groups and controls had normal levels of T4, T3 and T3 resin uptake. When compared to adult controls or males with constitutional delayed adolescence, the male thalassemic patients had increased basal TSH levels with an exaggerated response to TRH. Long term testosterone enanthate led to a decrease in integrated TSH secretion, showing that androgens may decrease the TSH response to TRH. The more sexually mature females of Group II also had increased basal and stimulated TSH levels; however, the sexually immature females of Group I had basal TSH and TSH responses to TRH equivalent to female controls. In Group I patients there were, moreover, no changes in TSH response during administration of estradiol valearate for 3 months and conjugated estrogens for 8 months. The high basal and stimulated TSH levels in the males and Group II females are most likely due to subclinical primary hypothyroidism. This has been previously described in thalassemia. On the other hand, failure of estrogens to increase the TSH response to TRH in Group I females is evidence of pituitary involvement, which is also well documented in this clinical condition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1957

The child's sexual life; a consideration of clinical implications.

A healthy sexual life begins in childhood, and the groundwork for later difficulties also begins in childhood. For the child, sexuality is a rather general, pleasurable excitation, not a specific genital stimulation. Excessive attention to the perineal area, operation upon or injury to the genital area and injections are vicissitudes which may have an unhealthy influence on later sexual development. Healthy and informed parental attitudes are the key here, just as they are in the normal exhibitionism, curiosity and intense emotional attachments to parents. Parents infect children, healthily or unhealthily, with their attitudes. In healthy growth exhibitionism and peeping become transformed in socially acceptable ways. In unhealthy growth, either perversions or strong reactions like over-modesty or shame result. Masturbation is common and transitory in most children. Parents, and especially pediatricians to whom parents turn, have a golden opportunity to direct healthy growth by being well informed about the infant and child's sexual growth and thus be enabled to advise upon or manage the common developmental phenomena with good commonsense and patience. Infants and children do not enter the world possessing the morals, standards or inhibitions of adults.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Leptin stimulates the reproductive male axis in rats during sexual maturation by acting on hypothalamic excitatory amino acids.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of treatment with leptin on gonadotrophin secretion and hypothalamic GnRH, excitatory and inhibitory amino acids release, in prepubertal (15 days old) and peripubertal (30 days old) male rats. Rats of both ages received a single (ip) injection of 30 microg/kg leptin 60 minutes previous to sacrifice. Serum LH was determined, and the hypothalamus dissected and incubated in Earle's medium. GnRH and amino acids release were determined in the media. LH and GnRH were measured by RIA. Amino acids were assessed by HPLC-UV detection. In the two prepubertal stages, (prepubertal and peripubertal, 15 and 30 days of age respectively) leptin increased plasmatic LH levels (p < 0.01) and hypothalamic GnRH release (p < 0.01). Glutamate (GLU) release showed an increment in leptin-treated rats (p < 0.01) at both ages, while only the 30 days old rats showed an increment of the aspartate (ASP) release. GABA secretion was not modified by leptin treatment. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that leptin stimulates the LH-GnRH axis during sexual development in male rats, increasing the secretion of both hormones. The hypothalamic excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter system appears to be involved in this change.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2006

The pherophorins: common, versatile building blocks in the evolution of extracellular matrix architecture in Volvocales.

Green algae of the order Volvocales provide an unrivalled opportunity for exploring the transition from unicellularity to multicellularity. They range from unicells, like Chlamydomonas, through homocytic colonial forms with increasing cooperation of individual cells, like Gonium or Pandorina, to heterocytic multicellular forms with different cell types and a complete division of labour, like Volvox. A fundamental requirement for the evolution of multicellularity is the development of a complex, multifunctional extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM has many functions, which can change under developmental control or as a result of environmental factors. Here molecular data from 15 novel proteins are presented. These proteins have been identified in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Gonium pectorale, Pandorina morum and Volvox carteri, and all belong to a single protein family, the pherophorins. Pherophorin-V1 is shown to be a glycoprotein localized to the 'cellular zone' of the V. carteri ECM. Pherophorin-V1 and -V2 mRNAs are strongly induced not only by the sex inducer, which triggers sexual development at extremely low concentrations, but also by mechanical wounding. Like the extensins of higher plants, which are also developmentally controlled or sometimes inducible by wounding, the pherophorins contain a (hydroxy-)proline-rich (HR) rod-like domain and are abundant within the extracellular compartment. In contrast to most extensins, pherophorins have additional globular A and B domains on both ends of the HR domains. Therefore pherophorins most closely resemble a particular class of higher plant extensin, the solanaceous lectins (e.g. potato lectin), suggesting multivalent carbohydrate-binding functions are present within the A and B domains and are responsible for cross-linking. Our results suggest that pherophorins are used as the building blocks for the extracellular scaffold throughout the Volvocales, with the characteristic mesh sizes in different ECM structures being a result of the highly diverse extensions of the HR domains. Pherophorins have therefore been a versatile element during the evolution of ECM architecture in these green algae.

Algal Proteins↗
PubMed1985

Plasma cortisol and sex steroid levels in Great Lakes coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum) in relation to fecundity and egg survival.

Plasma 11-ketotestosterone and cortisol levels in spawning male and female coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum) collected from a Lake Erie (Pennsylvania) stock were significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than in stocks of coho salmon at a comparable stage of sexual development collected from Lakes Ontario (two stocks) or Michigan. Plasma testosterone levels in female coho salmon from Lake Erie were significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than in females from Lake Ontario or Lake Michigan stocks. There were no significant differences in plasma testosterone levels in the males, or 17 beta-estradiol levels in male or female salmon of the four stocks sampled from the three study lakes. This apparent dysfunction in androgen and cortisol secretion in the Lake Erie stock is correlated with and may account for the low fecundity and poor expression of secondary sexual characteristics in that stock.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Sexual satisfaction and sociological factors].

Using the interview method, three sexologists examined over a period of 36 years the sexual development and life of 2425 gynecological patients who were sent to Frant. Láznĕ (Franzensbad) for post-treatment of conditions following gynecological inflammations or surgery. They had all been married at least one year and when interviewed were 20-40 years old. After their division into individual decades of birth between 1911 and 1970 it was ascertained that the percentage of coitally orgastic women continuously increased from 31% to 80%. This was accompanied by a distinct increase of coital activity. On the basis of results of new sociological studies the authors try to explain the increase of sexual satisfaction mainly through changes in the course of sexual life of women. These were caused through changes of social milieu not only after the second world war but also in the course of the whole twentieth century. The authors are of the opinion that the sexual satisfaction in women will remain due to biological differences always somewhat lower than in men.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Prolactin acts centrally to enhance newt courtship behavior.

The effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) and intraperitoneal (IP) injections of ovine prolactin (PRL), antiserum against newt PRL, and antibody against the newt PRL receptor on the expression of courtship behavior of male newts, Cynops pyrrhogaster, were studied to see whether PRL acts centrally or peripherally to induce the behavior. Injections of PRL by either route into gonadotropin-primed males enhanced the expression of the behavior dose-dependently. The minimum effective amount of ovine PRL administered intracerebroventricularly was 0.1 microg, whereas it was 100 microg when injected intraperitoneally. ICV injection of antiserum against newt PRL blocked the spontaneously occurring male courtship behavior when the anti-newt PRL serum was given either intracerebroventricularly or intraperitoneally. The minimum effective dose of the antiserum administered intracerebroventricularly was 0.05 microl, whereas it was 20 microl when injected intraperitoneally. Neither ICV nor IP injection of preimmune serum affected the expression of the behavior. Furthermore, ICV, but not IP, administration of 0.3 microg of anti-newt PRL receptor antibody, purified from antiserum against newt PRL receptor by use of an antigen-conjugated affinity column, blocked the spontaneously occurring courtship behavior in sexually developed males. Neither ICV nor IP injection of the same amount of normal rabbit IgG affected the expression of the behavior. The results strongly suggest that endogenous PRL enhances the behavior by acting centrally through the PRL receptors localized in the brain area.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effects of dioxins in the development of malignant tumors and disorders of reproductive health of the population].

The mortality caused by malignant tumors in the town of Chapaevsk, characterized by increased level of dioxins in the environment, is statistically higher than the expected values. For men the relative risk of general morbidity is 1.9 and mortality, 1.8; for lung cancer: morbidity, 3.3 and mortality 3.1; for urogenital cancer: morbidity, 3.6 and mortality, 2.6; for gastric cancer: morbidity 1.9 and mortality, 1.7. In women the morbidity and mortality due to breast cancer (relative risks 1.9 and 2.1, respectively) and cancer of the cervix uteri (relative risks 2.1 and 1.8, respectively) are increased. Changes in the reproductive health of residents of this town are as follows: high incidence of spontaneous abortions, appearance of small-for-date babies, and genital disorders in body (cryptorchidism, phimosis, hypospadia, delayed sexual development).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preimplantation exposures of murine embryos to estradiol or methoxychlor change postnatal development.

Long-term effects of in vivo exposures to proestrogen methoxychlor (MXC) or estradiol-17beta (E) were studied during early pregnancy (preimplantation) in ICR mice. Pregnant dams received either subcutaneous injections of 1 microg of E on Day 2 of pregnancy only (vaginal plug = Day 1), or 5.0mg of MXC on Days 2-4 of pregnancy in sesame oil. Pregnant control mice were treated with the vehicle only. Litter size, postnatal survival, sex ratio at birth, and anogenital distance (AGD) in offspring of both sexes were examined, as well as vaginal opening in female offspring. High mortality rate was recorded in MXC-exposed offspring due to infanticide. Exposures to either E or MXC did not change sex ratio at birth, but the litter size was smaller in the former group. On postnatal Day 21, male pups exposed to either E or MXC at preimplantation stage exhibited shorter AGD than the controls, with the change most pronounced after MXC treatments. AGD in female offspring was unaffected after MXC exposures, but E treatments produced longer AGD in the females than that recorded in the controls. Preimplantation exposures to E or MXC also accelerated sexual maturation as significantly more females exhibited precocious vaginal opening at weaning. Our study shows that exposures to MXC or E at preimplantation stages cause long term alteration of sexual development during weaning in offspring of both sexes. Also, MXC treatments retarded both growth and weight of both sexes of offspring, in comparison to controls.

Animals↗