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The Effects of Kepone on the Ovary
Christina Borgeest
School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Endocrine disruptors are natural or synthetic chemicals that mimic, enhance (agonists) or inhibit (antagonists) natural hormones responsible for homeostasis, reproduction development and behavior. Women can be exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment, such as the organochlorine chemicals known as kepone and mirex. While kepone is known to disrupt many endocrine functions, little is known about its effects on the ovary. Chemicals that damage the ovary and its structural units, the follicles, are of concern because the ovary is responsible for fertility and normal hormone production. The purpose of this research is to increase our understanding of the effects of kepone on the ovary. Specifically, we propose to test the hypothesis that increased levels of kepone cause ovarian damage by altering the rates of cellular proliferation and/or apoptosis or estrogen receptor (ER) levels in the ovary.
To increase our understanding of how kepone affects the ovary, we will complete the following aims: 1) examine the effects of kepone on the morphological appearance of the ovary; 2) measure the rate of follicular proliferation in ovarian cells; 3) measure the rate of apoptosis in ovarian cells and 4) measure the changes in ER levels. We will complete these aims by exposing mice to various levels of kepone and vehicle control. We will then collect the ovaries at specfic time-points, and perform histological evaluation, proliferation/apoptosis assays and measure changes in ER levels.
The results of this study will tell us whether kepone affects the ovary by altering follicle numbers, cellular proliferation, the rate of apoptosis or levels of ER. Such information is critical for understanding the potential impact of EDCs on the ovary and for elucidating the mechanism of ovarian damage by the estrogenic pesticide, kepone.
