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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.
Exposure of mice to chlordecone, a long-time insecticide used in the West Indies, interferes with the production of spermatozoa from several generations of males.
As with any experiment on mice, these conclusions can not automatically apply to humans, take care to point out 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 on the fertility of men residing in the West Indies who were exposed to chlordecone during their prenatal life ", and inserm said in a statement released Monday.
In the In this study, early gestational mice "were exposed orally to a daily dose of chlordecone known not to induce adverse effects in this species", according to Inserm.
Outcome: insecticide causes in their third generation male offspring (ie the first one not directly exposed) " a decrease in the number of germinal stem cells (at the origin of the spermatozoa), a impairment of their differentiation (process by which the cells specialize, Ed.) and a decrease in the number of mature spermatozoa "
" The entire germ line in males is affected either in qualitative terms and after two generations "says the study leader, Fatima Smagulova, quoted in the release.
Carcinogen and endocrine disruptor insecticide, chlord Banned in France in 1990, it was used until 1993 by way of derogation from the West Indies
It is still present in soils, where it can remain up to 600 to 700 years. It is found in certain foods of plant or animal origin, as well as in certain sources of drinking water.
" The levels of environmental exposure to chlordecone that people are currently facing are not such as to causing changes in the characteristics of sperm when exposure occurs in adulthood ", recalls Inserm citing previous studies.
However, the consequences of exposure during pregnancy are unknown
Created July 23, 2018
Sources:
Gestational exposure to chlordecone promotes transgenerational changes in the murine reproductive system of males – Aurore Gely-Pernot et al. – Scientific Reports, published online: July 2018 (available online)
Photo: © D-Keine / IStock.com
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