Effects of prenatal X-irradiation on postnatal testicular development and function in the Wistar rat: development/teratology/behavior/radiation.

It is evident that significant permanent tissue hypoplasia can be produced following radiation exposure late in fetal development. Because two organs, brain and testes, are developmentally and functionally interrelated, it was of interest to determine whether fetal testicular hypoplasia was a primary or a secondary effect of fetal brain irradiation. Twenty-four pregnant Wistar strain rats were randomly assigned to one of four groups, and a laparotomy was performed on day 18 of gestation. The fetuses received sham irradiation, whole body irradiation, or only head/thorax or pelvic body irradiation at a dosage level of 1.5 Gy. Mothers were allowed to deliver and raise their offspring until postnatal day 30, when the offspring were weaned. At 60 days of age, 74 male offspring were allowed to mate with colony control females of similar age until successful insemination or until the males reached 90 days of age, when they were killed. Testes were weighed and processed for histologic examination. Direct radiation of testes, due to whole body or pelvic exposure, resulted in testicular growth retardation and significantly reduced spermatogenesis. Breeding activity of the males and the percent of positive inseminations were also slightly reduced. However, a significant percentage of male offspring receiving direct testicular radiation did produce offspring. Head/thorax-only irradiation did not adversely affect testicular growth or spermatogenesis. Therefore, the use of histologic analysis as the sole determinant of infertility may be misleading. This study indicates that testicular growth retardation and an increased infertility rate result from direct prenatal exposure of rat testes to X-radiation and are not necessarily mediated via X-irradiation effects on the central nervous system.