Neonatal Estrogen Exposure of Male Rats Alters Reproductive Functions

The effects of neonatal exposure to different doses of dieth-ylstilbestrol (DES) on the reproductive functions of male rats at adulthood were evaluated. Sprague-Dawley rats (5–8/group) re-ceived sc injections of 25 ml olive oil containing DES (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO) at a dose of 10 mg, 1 mg, 100 ng, 10 ng, or 1 ng per rat on alternate days from Postnatal Days 2– 12. Control animals received olive oil only. All animals were allowed to develop until 83–91 days of age; however, when they were 70 to 80 days old, four male rats each from the 10 mg, 1 mg, 100 ng, and control groups were cohabited with untreated 60- to 70-day-old females (1:1) for 12 days. At the end of co-habitation, both mated and unmated male rats were weighed, and blood and tissue samples were collected and processed. Re-sults revealed that although sperm motility patterns and sper