Effects of neonatal estrogen on hypothalamic deoxyribonucleases and DNA in the female rat

Administration of a pharmacologic dose of 17 beta-estradiol benzoate to neonatal female rats during the sexually critical period of brain differentiation affected neither the activities nor developmental patterns of hypothalamic acid and alkaline deoxyribonucleases through 35 days of age. However, hypothalamic DNA content was significantly decreased in the treated rats at age 2 days. These data suggest that the transient steroid-induced decrease in DNA is neither mediated by acid nor alkaline deoxyribonucleases.