Vinclozolin: A feasibility and sensitivity study of the ILSI-HESI F1-extended one-generation rat reproduction protocol

Feasibility of the ILSI-HESI (ACSA) extended one-generation protocol was tested with vinclozolin (dietary 0, 4, 20, 100 mg/kg/day). Parental Wistar rats (n = 25/sex/dose) were dosed pre-mating (males 4, females 2 weeks) through F1 offspring weaning (postnatal day PND21); F1 dosing continued through PND70. At PND21, 3 subsets (each 1 pup/sex/litter) were selected for neurotoxicology (functional observational battery, motor activity, neuropathology), clinical pathology (hematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, thyroid hormone assay) (subsets 1a, 1b; each n = 10/sex/dose), immunotoxicology (IgM) SRBC antibody response and natural killer cell assays (subset 2; n = 25/sex/dose), and estrus cycle (subset 3; n = 25/dose). Vinclozolin reduced parental and offspring bodyweight and prostate, seminal vesicles and epididymides weight, and increased adrenal weight/induced adrenal cortical hypertrophy at 100 mg/kg. Mating, fertility, gestation and lactation were unaffected. At 20 and 100 mg/kg, F1 males had reduced anogenital distance and retained areolae; at 100 mg/kg only, there was hypospadias, purulent prostatitis and seminal vesicle inflammation with atrophy, and Leydig cell hyperplasia, and in F1 females accelerated vaginal opening. These effects are consistent with vinclozolin's known anti-androgenic developmental effects. Neuro- and immunotoxicology tests were unaffected. F1 Only T4 was reduced at 20 and 100 mg/kg. The overall sensitivity of the extended one-generation protocol is comparable to or even greater than the current two-generation study. Thus it reduces animal use while maintaining or enhancing information for risk assessment.