Chronic Exposure to Dibromoacetic Acid, a Water Disinfection Byproduct, Diminishes Primordial Follicle Populations in the Rabbit

To determine if dibromoacetic acid (DBA) affects ovarian folliculogenesis, four groups of female Dutch-belted rabbits were exposed daily to 0, 1, 5, or 50 mg DBA/kg body weight in drinking water beginning in utero from gestation day 15 throughout life. Functionality of the endocrine axis was assessed by measuring serum concentrations of gonadotropins following an im injection of 10 mg GnRH at 12 (prepubertal; n5 6/dose group) and 24 (post-pubertal; n 5 10/dose group) weeks of age. A day after GnRH challenge, numberof ovulation sites andovarianweightsweredeter-mined at necropsy. Left ovaries were processed for histopathology, serially sectioned at 6 mm, and every twelfth section stained with hematoxylin and eosin was evaluated. All healthy follicles were categorized asprimordial, primary, small preantral, largepreantral, or small antral follicles. The area of each section evaluated was measured and the number of follicles in each category expresse