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SOCIAL PLAY BEHAVIOR IS ALTERED IN THE MALE RAT DUE TO PERINATAL EXPOSURE TO THE ANTIANDROGEN VINCLOZOLIN
Citation:
Hotchkiss, A. K., J S. Ostby, J. G. Vandenbergh, AND L. E. Gray Jr. SOCIAL PLAY BEHAVIOR IS ALTERED IN THE MALE RAT DUE TO PERINATAL EXPOSURE TO THE ANTIANDROGEN VINCLOZOLIN. Presented at Triangle Consortium for Reproductive Biology, RTP, NC, January 27, 2001.
Description:
Abstract:
During mammalian sexual differentiation, androgens, and specifically, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, are critical for the organization of the male phenotype. In rats, social play behavior is organized by androgens during the neonatal period. Males play more than females, and administration of exogenous androgens during the perinatal period alters juvenile expression of this sexually dimorphic behavior. Recently, there has been increasing concern about the potential for environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to alter sexual differentiation in mammals. One such EDC is the fungicide, vinclozolin (V). Vinclozolin is an androgen-receptor antagonist that inhibits androgen-dependent tissue growth in vivo. We are interested in whether developmental exposure to an EDC, such as androgen receptor agonists and antagonists, could alter androgen-dependent behaviors such as play. To examine this possibility, neonatal male rats were injected from postnatal day 2-3 with corn oil, pharmacological antiandrogen flutamide (50mg/kg/day), or vinclozolin (200mg/kg/day); whereas neonatal females were treated either with corn oil or testosterone propionate (250 ig/kg/day). At postnatal day 36-37 animals were observed for social play. Behaviors associated with general social activity, such as sniffing and dorsal contact, were unaffected by treatment or sex. However, play behavior in males treated with flutamide or vinclozolin was significantly reduced to near female levels when compared to control males. Play behavior in females exposed to testosterone propionate during the neonatal period was significantly increased when compared with control females. Hence, this study suggests that perinatal exposure to vinclozolin, an environmental antiandrogen, can alter androgen-dependent behavior, such as play, in the male rat. Given the utility of using play behavior in testing for environmental antiandrogens, we suggest that it be considered as a rodent behavioral test for such EDCs.