Lindane effects on testosterone metabolism in neuroendocrine organs of cockerel and female turkey

Abstract

The use of lindane (.-hexachlorocyclohexane) in agriculture without strict adherence to legislative end manufacturer's recommendations leads to its presence in raw and industrial food products. Ingesting such food makes possible lindane accumulation in tissues with high lipid content, including the brain (Vohland et al. 1981). The permanent presence of subtoxic doses of lindane is responsible for its long-lasting effect on various physiological systems in organisms, including the system for the regulation of hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. Lindane decreases the egg-laying capacity of hens (Kosutzky et al. 1980) and reduces the number of good quality chicks hatched from fertile eggs (Kan and Jonker-den Rooyen 1978). Its possible adverse effects on the reproductive system in mammals were demonstrated through changes provoked in the metabolism of androgens in the neuroendocrine organs (~imi~ and Kniewald 1985). The aim of this work was to investigate in vitro the effect of lindane on the activity of enzymes responsible for testosterone metabolism in the pituitary and hypothalamus in birds. ~'i'~l~S AND ~e:i~ODS [4-14C]-Testosterone (specific activity 59 mCi/mmol) was obtained from Radiochemical Centre Amersham, Bucks, U.K. It was purified before use by thin-layer chromatography. Unlabelled steroids were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo, USA. Lindane (purity 99.5%) was purchased from Chromos, Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and was used without further purification. All other chemicals were analytical grade commercial preparations. The birds used in this study were cockerels of White Leghorn strain and female domestic turkeys of Nicholas strain. They were caged with food and water available at all times on the lighting schedule of 12 h light: 12 h darkness. Cockerels, aged 7 weeks,