Modulation of adrenal ornithine decarboxylase by chlordecone, p,p'DDT and permethrin

Adrenal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is greatly elevated in rats dosed once with one of several insecticides; chlordecone, p,p'DDT or permethrin. An abrupt rise in the dose-response curve was apparent between 25 and 50 mg chlordecone/kg body wt, corresponding to the range where major behavioral changes occur. The latter dose of chlordecone resulted in a persistent elevation of adrenal ODC for at least 4 days, longer than that caused by the other insecticides examined. No equivalent changes were found in levels of hypothalamic or hippocampal ODC after chlordecone treatment. Hypophysectomy did not reduce the response of adrenal ODC to chlordecone, after the diminished size of the adrenal gland in operated animals was taken into account. Isolated adrenal cortical cells of a mouse tumor line (Y-1), when incubated in media containing 10(-5) M chlordecone, responded with increased ODC activity. These data suggest that the mechanism of adrenal activation by chlordecone may possess a direct component, in addition to the well-characterized stimulation of pituitary ACTH secretion caused by chlordecone acting on the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system.