Somatometric parameters of the offspring of laboratory mice under prenatal exposure of synestrol

Exposure to synthetic estrogens and hormones in the prenatal period affects the formation, morphogenesis, and growth of the gonads in male and female offspring. The aim of the work is to study the somatometric parameters of the born offspring of laboratory mice under the influence of a synthetic analogue of estrogen - synestrol by injection the drug to their mothers during pregnancy. On the 11th day of pregnancy, laboratory female mice underwent a single intramuscular injection of various doses of a synthetic analogue of estrogen - synestrol. The intact group of females remained without any effect (physiological pregnancy), the control group of females was injected with the solvent of the drug - olive oil at a dose of 0,2 μg/kg (n=5) in volume equal to injected volumes of different doses of the drug, the first experimental group was injected once , intramuscularly synestrol in the form of a 2% oil solution at a dose of 25 mcg/kg (n=5), the second experimental group at a dose of 40 mcg/kg (n=5), the third experimental group at a dose of 50 mcg/kg (n=5). In the resulting offspring, somatometric studies of body weight, body length, tail length, head length and width, anogenital distance at the age of 1 month of postnatal development were carried out, the obtained parameters of the offspring of the experimental and control groups were compared in pairs with similar parameters of the offspring of the intact group of animals. As a result of the study, it was found that in male offspring under the prenatal exposure to synestrol, a dose-dependent decrease in both weight and body length occurs, while there are no similar changes in female offspring. The distance between the bases of the auricles (width of the head) in the female offspring increases significantly in all experimental groups. The anogenital distance in the offspring of the experimental groups decreased regardless of animal sex. The results obtained prove that the hormonal background of pregnancy can have a significant effect on the somatometric parameters of offspring in the early period of postnatal ontogenesis in laboratory mice.