Effects of in utero and lactational exposure to the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) dose of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on the reproductive organs of female mice.

Kitauchi S

Kitauchi S(1), Maeda M(1), Hirano T(2), Ikenaka Y(3)(4)(5), Nishi M(1), Shoda A(1), Murata M(1), Mantani Y(6), Yokoyama T(1), Tabuchi Y(2), Hoshi N(1).
Author information:
(1)Laboratory of Animal Molecular Morphology, Department of Animal Science, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan.
(2)Life Science Research Center, Toyama University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
(3)Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
(4)Translational Research Unit, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
(5)Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, 11 Hoffman Street, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa.
(6)Laboratory of Histophysiology, Department of Animal Science, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1292/jvms.21-0014

Recently, developmental exposure to clothianidin (CLO) has been shown to cause reproductive toxicity in male mice, but the effects in female mice remain to be clarified. Pregnant C57BL/6N mice were given a no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) dose of CLO until weaning. We then examined ovaries of 3- or 10-week-old female offspring. In the CLO-administered group, morphological changes, a decrease in the immunoreactivity of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4), and activation of genes in the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway were observed in 3-week-old mice, and decreases of GPx4 immunoreactivity, 17OH-progesterone and corticosterone levels were observed in 10-week-old mice, along with high rates of infanticide and severe neglect, providing new evidence that developmental exposure to CLO affects juvenile and adult mice differently.