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Exposure of mice to chlordecone, a long-time insecticide used in the West Indies, adversely affects the production of spermatozoa from several generations of males, even if they have not been exposed themselves, according to a study by the Inserm.
As with any experiment on mice, these conclusions can not automatically be applied to humans, take care to emphasize the authors of this study published in early July in the journal Scientific Reports.
" The researchers do not know what the effective reach of these results could be on the fertility of men residing in the West Indies who were exposed to chlordecone during their prenatal life ", Inserm emphasizes in a statement published
In this study, early-gestating mice " were exposed orally to a daily dose of chlordecone known not to induce adverse effects in humans. this species ", according to Inserm
Result: the insecticide causes in their male descendants to the third generation (ie the first one not directly exposed) " a decrease in the number of germinal stem cells (at the origin of spermatozoa), an impairment of their differentiation (process according to which the cells specialize, Ed.) And a decrease in the number of spermatozoa mature "
" The entire germ line in males is affected either quantitatively or qualitatively after two generations, "explains the study leader, Fatima Smagulova, quoted in the communique
Carcinogenic insecticide and Endocrine disruptor Chlordecone, banned in 1977 in the United States, was used in West Indies from 1972 to 1993 to control the banana weevil. Banned in France in 1990, it was used until 1993 by derogation from the West Indies
It is still present in the soils where it can remain up to 600 to 700 years. It is found in some commodities of origin vegetable or animal as well as in some sources of drinking water .
" Levels of environmental exposure to chlordecone that populations are currently facing are not likely to lead to changes in sperm characteristics when exposure occurs in adulthood "recalls Inserm citing previous studies. 19659003] The consequences of exposure during pregnancy are unknown.
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