Assessment of ovarian reserve after <i>in vivo</i> exposure to DXR.

<p>(<b>A</b>,<b>B</b>) DXR caused depletion of the primordial follicle pool in a time dependent manner. ^**<i>P</i><0.001 relative to CON; opened bars (vehicle CON); filled bars (DXR); the number of mice analyzed per group is provided in parentheses above each bar. (<b>C</b>,<b>D</b>) DXR did not affect follicles beyond those in the primary stage; as depicted in these micrographs, several antral follicles (black stars) and corpora lutea (white stars) are present in the ovaries of treated females. (<b>E</b>,<b>F</b>) Some primordial and small follicles were still present in the ovaries of CON females six months after treatment. (<b>G</b>,<b>H</b>) The ovaries of DXR-treated females at 6 months of age resembled the ovaries of very old females, with no follicular structures or corpus luteum present; moreover those ovaries had shrunk to approximately half size compared to CON ovaries from females of the same age, compare E and G.