Spermotoxicity and tissue accumulation of chlordecone (Kepone) in male rats

Abstract

Adult male rats were fed diets containing 0, 5, 15, and 30 ppm chlordecone for 90 d and then either bred to untreated females or sacrificed for terminal studies. Chlordecone residues in liver, fat, and serum were determined in the treated males. Reproductive performance was unaffected, and no histologic changes in the male sex organs could be attributed to chlordecone treatment. Reversible decreases in the motility and viability of epididymal spermatozoa and decreased sperm reserves in the cauda epididymidis were observed in rats fed 15 or 30 ppm. No effect on sperm morphology or on sperm concentration in epididymal fluid was detected. Chlordecone accumulation in tissues was linearly related to dietary levels, with the highest chlordecone concentration occurring in the liver.

Atsdr Evaluation of Health Effects of Chemicals

“…Tremoring, accompanied or unaccompanied by increased responsiveness to touch and noise, has also been observed in a number of intermediate-duration studies (Huber, 1965;Cannon and Kimbrough, 1979;Curtis and Mehendale, 1979;Dietz and McMillan, 1979;Larson et al, 1979b;Mehendale, 1981b;Klingensmith and Mehendale 1982a;Squibb and Tilson, 1982b;Fujimori et al, 1983;Linder et al, 1983;Pryor et al, 1983;Agarwal and Mehendale, 1984c;Curtis and Hoyt, 1984;Schutzmann, 1986, 1987). Mild tremors were observed in rats at doses as low as 0.83 mg/kg/day for 90 days (Linder et al, 1983).…”

“…In mice at higher doses (5.2 mg/kg/day chlordecone for 160 days), no effect on spermatogenesis occurred, but a decrease in litter size was observed when treated males were mated with control females (Huber, 1965). In contrast to the absence of adverse histopathological changes reported by Linder et al (1983), testicular atrophy has been reported following dietary exposure of rats to 0.5 mg/kg/day of chlordecone for 90 days (Larson et al, 1979b). The difference in the two studies might be due to the use of younger males in the study by Larson et al (1979b), suggesting that adolescent males may be more susceptible to adverse effects on the gonads.…”

“…Intermediate-and chronic-duration studies in rodents indicate that decreases in sperm count and testicular atrophy may result from exposure to chlordecone. Dietary exposure of male rats to 0.83 mg/kg/day and above of chlordecone for 90 days decreased sperm motility and viability; at 1.67 mg/kg/day and above, there was a decrease in the weight of seminal vesicles and prostate (Linder et al, 1983). Despite these effects, the fertility, litter size, sperm morphology, sperm count, and histopathology of male gonads were unaffected.…”

“…Mild tremors were observed in rats at doses as low as 0.83 mg/kg/day for 90 days (Linder et al, 1983). At 0.5 mg/kg/day for 90 days, an increase in the startle response of rats was observed, but no tremoring or effects on reflexes such as the tail flick response or the negative geotaxis test were observed, indicating that the startle response may be a sensitive indicator of chlordecone-induced neuronal function (Squibb and Tilson, 1982b).…”

Evaluation of the ecotoxicological impact of the organochlorine chlordecone on soil microbial community structure, abundance, and function

“…Interaction with cell membranes partly explains the action of CLD, which is known to alter cellular functions of the central nervous system. In addition, low CLD concentrations interact with hormone receptors (estrogenic receptors and other endocrine receptors) and induce a hormone-like effect that explains CLD toxicity on animal reproduction (Fujimori et al 1982;Squibb and Tilson 1982;Linder et al 1983;Desaiah 1985;Swartz et al 1988;Kodavanti et al 1990Kodavanti et al , 1993Vaccari and Saba 1995). These studies were mainly carried out on animals.…”