Toxicological consequences of aroclor 1254 ingestion by female rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkeys. Part 2. Reproduction and infant findings.

A group of 80 menstruating rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkeys were randomly allocated to four similar test rooms (20 monkeys/room) and then randomly allocated within each room to one of five dose groups (four females/dose group/room). Each day, the monkeys self-ingested capsules containing doses of 0, 5, 20, 40 or 80 micrograms Aroclor 1254/kg body weight. After 25 months of continuous dosing, approximately 90% of the treated females had attained a qualitative pharmacokinetic steady state with respect to the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in their adipose tissue. Commencing on test month 37, each female was paired with an untreated male until either an impregnation occurred or the 29-month breeding phase of the study was completed. The females continued to receive their daily test dose during mating and gestation. To preclude an infant ingesting the mother's dosing capsule, dosing of the dam was discontinued when a nursing infant was approximately 7 wk old. Treatment was restarted when the infant was weaned at 22 wk of age. At parturition, and every 4 wk until weaning, milk and blood samples were obtained from the dam and a blood sample was obtained from the infant for PCB analysis. When the infant was 20 wk old, immunological testing was initiated and an adipose sample was obtained from the infant and dam for PCB analysis. Subsequently, further adipose and blood samples were obtained from the infant and blood specimens were obtained from the dam for PCB analysis. Concurrently, each infant was subjected to anthropometric measurements and detailed clinical examinations until it was approximately 122 wk old. At 122 wk some of the control and all of the treated infants were killed humanely and autopsied. A statistical analysis of the reproduction data provided evidence for a significant decreasing dose-related trend in conception rates and a significant increasing dose-related trend in foetal mortality. Several comparisons between impregnated and non-impregnated females did not implicate 'age' as a confounding factor regarding these results. The major findings with the infants involved some immunological test differences and mild clinical manifestations of PCB ingestion.