ABSTRACT
Pregnant outbred albino mice were given formaldehyde or Sonacide (potentiated acid glutaraldehyde) by gavage on days 6--15 of gestation. The mice were killed on day 18, the general health and reproductive status of the dam evaluated, and the fetuses examined and processed in order to characterize external, visceral, and skeletal malformations. Although formaldehyde (stock solution containing 12--15% methanol as a preservative) was lethal to 22 of 34 dams treated with 185 mg/kg/day, and one of 35 dams treated with 148 mg/kg/day, these doses did not produce statistically significant (two-sided p < 0.05 versus controls) teratogenic effects in the fetuses of the surviving dams. Sonacide was also judged not to be teratogenic to the mice employed in this study, in spite of the fact that relatively high doses were employed. The highest doses of Sonacide studied (5.0 ml/kg/day, which is equivalent to 100 mg/kg/day of glutaraldehyde) killed 19 of 35 dams and caused a significant reduction in the mean weight gain of the surviving mothers. In addition, this dose produced a significant increase in the number of stunted fetuses.
Subject(s)
Abnormalities, Drug-Induced/embryology , Aldehydes/toxicity , Embryo, Mammalian/drug effects , Fetus/drug effects , Formaldehyde/toxicity , Glutaral/toxicity , Animals , Disinfectants/toxicity , Female , Fetal Death/chemically induced , Fetal Diseases/chemically induced , Fetal Growth Retardation/chemically induced , Mice , Polymers/toxicity , Pregnancy , Pregnancy, Animal/drug effectsABSTRACT
Pregnant CD-1 mice were given phencyclidine by gavage on days 6-15 of gestation, at dose levels of 60, 80, 100, and 120 mg/kg/day. The mice were killed on day 18 and the offspring were examined for external, visceral, and skeletal alterations. There was a significant increase in the average percent of malformed fetuses per litter only at the 120 mg/kg/day dose level (6.1% versus 1.2% for the control), a dose level which resulted in the death of 8 of 18 dams before scheduled sacrifice. At dose levels less than 120 mg/kg/day, the incidence of malformations was not significantly higher than the control value, in spite of the presence of overt maternal toxicity. Because a significant number of malformations was not seen at dose levels which were not highly toxic to the dams, it was concluded that phencyclidine was not demonstrated to be a teratogen in the mouse.
Subject(s)
Phencyclidine/pharmacology , Teratogens , Abnormalities, Drug-Induced/epidemiology , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical , Female , Mice , Phencyclidine/toxicity , PregnancyABSTRACT
Pregnant CD-1 mice drank either chlorinated tap water obtained at NIEHS from the City of Durham, North Carolina municipal water supply or this same water passed in sequence through an organic removal cartridge and a demineralizer, followed by glass distillation. No significant overall differences in the reproductive status of pregnant mice were noted when the two groups were compared. Similarly, no significant overall influence on the incidence of malformed fetuses could be traced to the purity of drinking water. Month by month comparisons indicated that there were three statistically significant differences; all of which indicated improved performance for the mice that drank tap water. When the results for both groups were combined and a month by month comparison was made there was a significant difference in the pregnancy rate for February (68%) as compared with an overall pregnancy rate of 80% and a 79-93% spread for the other months, but the decrease was due to the low incidence of pregnancy in the group that drank the purified water.
