Hormonal Influences on DDT Metabolism in the White Rat

¹ From the Public Health Service, Communicable Disease Center, Technology Branch, Technical Development Laboratories, Savannah, Georgia

The influence of diethylstilbestrol (DES) and testosterone propionate (TP) on the storage of DDT and its metabolite, DDE, was studied in normal and in gonadectomized rats. As expected, TP dosage increased the growth of female rats while DES administration inhibited the growth of males. Both hormones inhibited gonadal growth. Rats that received either DDT or hormone showed an increased liver weight/body weight ratio as compared to control animals. This effect was more marked in males than in females. DES increased DDT and DDE storage in fat in the male while TP decreased these values in the female. Similar effects of hormone dosage were noted on the ratio of DDE to total DDT-derived material stored in fat.