Deleterious Influence of Orally Administered Tritiated Thymidine on Reproductive Capacity of Mice

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Abstract
Tritiated thymidine was given in drinking water (2[mu]c/ml) to normal adult female mice before and during the course of gestation. Oral doses ranged from 245 to 300 [mu]c over periods of from 24 to 32 days. During their contact with the females, adult male breeders also consumed the labeled solution in quantities ranging from 8 to 167 [mu]c, over periods of from 1 to 18 days. Delivery of apparently normal litters of young followed the first mating experiment, during which both males and females had received tritiated thymidine. In subsequent breeding contacts between the treated males and females, or treated males and stock females, there was a rapid decline in reproductive capacity, characterized by an increased incidence of stillbirth, fetal resorption, and male sterility. Testicular damage in males at the highest dose levels was confirmed histologically.