Modulation of mammary gland development in prepubertal male rats exposed to genistein and methoxychlor

The estrogenic isoflavone genistein is a common dietary component that has been shown to affect reproductive development in experimental animals at high doses. The objective of the present study was to examine interactions of genistein and the hormonally active pesticide methoxychlor on mammary gland development in juvenile rats. Timed-pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a soy- and alfalfa-free diet containing different combinations of genistein (300 and 800 ppm) and methoxychlor (800 ppm). Rats were fed these diets starting on gestation day (GD)1 and continuing through pregnancy and lactation until postnatal day (PND) 22, when the pups were killed. Inguinal mammary glands from both female and male pups were processed as whole-mount preparations for morphometric analysis. The total glandular area and the numbers of branch points, lateral buds, and terminal end buds in the male rats were found to be significantly greater in the groups exposed to methoxychlor than those exposed to genistein only. These effects were not observed in the female rats. In the male rats, methoxychlor had the most prominent effect on elongating the glandular ducts, while genistein enhanced the ductile branching. The 2 compounds in combination promoted the development of alveolar-lobular structure, an effect not observed with either compound alone. Immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen revealed a high percentage of immunopositive cells in the mammary epithelia of the males exposed to methoxychlor and genistein (800 ppm) compared to the controls. While no significant changes in serum levels of mammotrophic hormones were detected, increased immunostaining for insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor, estrogen receptor alpha, and progesterone receptor in the genistein + methoxychlor group suggested that local factors involved in regulating mammary growth may have played a role in propagating the endocrine effects of these two compounds. These results indicated that the mammary glands of juvenile male rather than juvenile female rats may be more sensitive to certain endocrine-active compounds and that high levels of phytoestrogens have the potential to alter the toxicological behaviors of other hormone mimics.