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2308983 
Technical Report 
Estrogenic Activity of Pesticides and Other Xenobiotics on the Uterus and Male Reproductive Tract 
Bulger, WH; Kupfer, D 
1985 
NIOSH/00171401 
J 
ED. 
1-33 
English 
Data on the estrogenic action of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides were reviewed. Numerous investigations showed that DDT (50293) analogs evoked responses in the uterus or oviduct of laboratory animals which were similar to those evoked by classical estrogens. Of the DDT analogs, o,p'-DDT (789026) was found to be the most potent estrogen in both in-vivo and in-vitro studies. Prolonged administration of high doses of DDT analogs or methoxychlor (72435) evoked estrogenic activity at the neuroendocrine level, while uterotropic responses were observed at much lower doses. Binding of tritiated estradiol to rat uterine estrogen receptors in-vitro was competitively inhibited by o,p'-DDT, but was not affected by other DDT analogs tested. Methoxychlor caused endometrial hyperplasia and severe mammary gland hyperplasia in female piglets and sterility in female rats in-vivo, but was relatively inactive as an inhibitor of tritiated estradiol binding to rat uterine estrogen receptors in-vitro. Methoxychlor was 50 percent less effective in inducing uterine ornithine-decarboxylase than its bis-hydroxy analog, 2,3-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (HPTE). In-vitro, HPTE competitively inhibited estradiol binding to uterine estrogen receptors. Overall, evidence from in-vivo and in-vitro studies suggested that methoxychlor was a proestrogen. Administration of o,p'-DDT or methoxychlor to male animals resulted in testicular atrophy and impaired reproductive performance, and o,p-DDT and HPTE inhibited estradiol binding to rat testicular estrogen receptors in-vitro. Chlordecone (143500) had a complex in-vivo action, with both estrogenic and progesterone like effects, and competitively inhibited estradiol binding to uterine estrogen receptors in-vitro. Industrial exposure to chlordecone was associated with reduced sperm counts, arrested sperm maturation, and decreased libido in male workers. The authors conclude that inadvertent exposure to these chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides is a potential hazard due to their estrogenic action.