Exposure of sires to enflurane affects learning function of murine progeny

Four 11-week-old white Swiss Webster male mice were exposed to 2% enflurane in oxygen for 4 hr/day on 5 alternate days. Eight days later each male was mated with 2 females. There was a 20% loss of offspring due to stillbirths. A total of 24 pups survived (group E). At the age of 7 weeks the learning function of group E mice was tested in a Rosensweig maze and compared to that of 24 pups born to sires similarly exposed to oxygen alone (group C). Pups from group E performed statistically significantly slower than group C pups. After animals had been tested for 10 alternate days, there was no further change in performance in either group over the next 10 weeks. Thus changes of the reproductive cells of male mice caused by exposure to enflurane adversely affect the learning function of their offspring.