Prediction of tissue and urine concentrations of 2-phenoxyethanol and its metabolite 2-phenoxyacetic acid in rat and human after oral and dermal exposures via GastroPlusTM physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling.

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for the important chemical phenoxyethanol (PhE) and its metabolite phenoxyacetic acid (PhAA) was built via GastroPlusTM software (version 9.0) using currently available analytically measured plasma and urinary time-courses of both PhE and its metabolite PhAA. This model was validated and used to predict tissue and urine concentrations of PhE and its metabolite PhAA in rats and humans after oral and dermal exposures. The prediction results showed that most predicted tissue concentrations of PhE or PhAA were lower than the experimental tissue concentrations based on total radioactivity. The predicted cumulative excretion of PhAA in both rats and humans fits very well with most experimental data. With this GastroPlusTM-based model, the margins of exposure (MOE) of PhE and PhAA were also calculated as 194 and 73.7, respectively. The predicted MOE of PhE is two-fold higher than the previous PBPK model built using total radioactivity-based tissue time courses, and the predicted MOE of PhAA was comparable to the previous PBPK model. These data indicate that for chemicals like PhE, GastroPlusTM can integrate multiple data sets into PBPK models to predict PK parameters for parent and metabolites in both rats and humans following intravenous, dermal, or oral exposures.

Weight-of-the-evidence evaluation of 2,4-D potential for interactions with the estrogen, androgen and thyroid pathways and steroidogenesis.

A comprehensive weight-of-the-evidence evaluation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was conducted for potential interactions with the estrogen, androgen and thyroid pathways and with steroidogenesis. This assessment was based on an extensive database of high quality in vitro, in vivo ecotoxicological and in vivo mammalian toxicological studies. Epidemiological studies were also considered. Toxicokinetic data provided the basis for determining rational cutoffs above which exposures were considered irrelevant to humans based on exceeding thresholds for saturation of renal clearance (TSRC); extensive human exposure and biomonitoring data support that these boundaries far exceed human exposures and provide ample margins of exposure. 2,4-D showed no evidence of interacting with the estrogen or androgen pathways. 2,4-D interacts with the thyroid axis in rats through displacement of thyroxine from plasma binding sites only at high doses exceeding the TSRC in mammals. 2,4-D effects on steroidogenesis parameters are likely related to high-dose specific systemic toxicity at doses exceeding the TSRC and are not likely to be endocrine mediated. No studies, including high quality studies in the published literature, predict significant endocrine-related toxicity or functional decrements in any species at environmentally relevant concentrations, or, in mammals, at doses below the TSRC that are relevant for human hazard and risk assessment. Overall, there is no basis for concern regarding potential interactions of 2,4-D with endocrine pathways or axes (estrogen, androgen, steroidogenesis or thyroid), and thus 2,4-D is unlikely to pose a threat from endocrine disruption to wildlife or humans under conditions of real-world exposures.

Feasibility of the extended one-generation reproductive toxicity study (OECD 443).

The extended one-generation reproduction toxicity study (OECD 443, adopted 28-July-2011) produces more information with fewer animals than the two-generation study (OECD 416), by including F1 neurotoxicity and immunotoxicity assessments, and omitting an F2 generation if there are no relevant F1 findings. This saves >1000 animals per compound. Feasibility studies based on draft OECD443 were conducted in industrial GLP laboratories in Europe and USA, using vinclozolin, methimazole and lead acetate. A fourth study was conducted with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in response to a regulatory request for reproduction and developmental neurotoxicity data. The studies effectively profiled vinclozolin as an anti-androgenic developmental toxicant, methimazole as a developmental anti-thyroid agent, and lead acetate as a systemic and developmental toxicant. The 2,4-D study demonstrated the value of toxicokinetic data in dose setting and data interpretation. These results illustrate the variety of reproductive and developmental endpoints which can be captured in this complex but manageable study design. Time constraints for triggering further (F2) testing are summarized.

Cholinesterase inhibition and toxicokinetics in immature and adult rats after acute or repeated exposures to chlorpyrifos or chlorpyrifos-oxon.

The effect of age or dose regimen on cholinesterase inhibition (ChEI) from chlorpyrifos (CPF) or CPF-oxon (CPFO) was studied in Crl:CD(SD) rats. Rats were exposed to CPF by gavage in corn oil, rat milk (pups), or in the diet (adults) or to CPFO by gavage in corn oil. Blood CPF/CPFO levels were measured. With acute exposure, ChEI NOELs were 2 mg/kg CPF for brain and 0.5 mg/kg CPF for red blood cells (RBCs) in both age groups. In pups, ChEI and blood CPF levels were similar using either milk or corn oil vehicles. Compared to gavage, adults given dietary CPF (12 h exposure) had greater RBC ChEI, but lower brain ChEI at corresponding CPF doses, indicating an effect of dose rate. With repeated CPF exposures, ChEI NOELs were the same across ages (0.5 and 0.1 mg/kg/day for brain and RBCs, respectively). With CPFO dosing, the ChEI NOELs were 0.1 mg/kg (acute) and 0.01 mg/kg/day (repeated doses) for RBCs with no ChEI in brain at CPFO doses up to 0.5 (pup) or 10 mg/kg (adult) for acute dosing or 0.5 mg/kg/day for both ages with repeat dosing. Thus, there were no age-dependent differences in CPF ChEI via acute or repeated exposures. Pups had less ChEI than adults at comparable blood CPF levels. Oral CPFO resulted in substantial RBC ChEI, but no brain ChEI, indicating no CPFO systemic bioavailability to peripheral tissues.

Evaluation of EPA's Tier 1 Endocrine Screening Battery and recommendations for improving the interpretation of screening results.

EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) was implemented in 2009-2010 with the issuance of test orders requiring manufacturers and registrants of 58 pesticide active ingredients and nine pesticide inert/high production volume chemicals to evaluate the potential of these chemicals to interact with the estrogen, androgen and thyroid hormone systems. The required endocrine screening will be conducted over the next 2-3years. Based on estimates of the impacted sectors, costs are at least $750,000-$1,000,000 per substance if all of the Tier 1 assays must be conducted. The screening will entail evaluation of responses in EPA's Tier 1 Endocrine Screening Battery (EDSP ESB), consisting of 11 distinct in vitro and in vivo assays. We reviewed the details of each test method and describe the critical factors integral to the design and conduct of the EDSP ESB assays as well as the limitations related to specificity and sensitivity. We discuss challenges to evaluating each assay, identify significant shortcomings, and make recommendations to enhance interpretation of results. Factors that affect the length of time necessary to complete the EDSP ESB for any particular substance are presented, and based on the overall analysis, we recommend a sequence for running the EDSP ESB assays. It is imperative that a structured, systematic weight of evidence framework is promptly developed, subjected to peer review and adopted. This will help to ensure an objective analysis of the results of the required EDSP screening, consistent integration of results across the EDSP ESB assays, and consistent decision making as to whether subsequent testing for adverse effects is needed. Based upon the limitations of the current EPA EDSP ESB, we concur with the Agency's Scientific Advisory Panel's recommendation that after the initial set of substances has been screened, the EDSP ESB should pause so that the results can be fully analyzed to determine the value of the existing assays. After this analysis, assays that are unnecessarily redundant or that lack endocrine specificity should be eliminated and if necessary, replaced by new or revised screens that are more mechanistically specific, rapid, reliable, and cost effective.

Inter-laboratory control data for reproductive endpoints required in the OPPTS 870.3800/OECD 416 reproduction and fertility test.

BACKGROUND: The U.S. EPA revised the Reproduction and Fertility Effects Test Guideline (OPPTS 870.3800/OECD 416) in 1998, adding numerous endpoints in an effort to incorporate new methodologies, improve the sensitivity for detecting reproductive toxicants, and more efficiently utilize study animals. Many of these new endpoints have not been used in regulatory reproductive toxicology studies prior to their inclusion in the test guidelines; thus, the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) initiated the Reproductive Endpoints Project to examine the utility of these new endpoints. METHODS: This report provides a retrospective analysis of 43 multi-generation studies (16 in Wistar rats, 27 in Sprague-Dawley rats) conducted according to the latest version of the test guidelines. It focuses on vehicle (negative) control values (means and ranges) for the various endpoints to examine inter-laboratory variability. RESULTS: Based on the compiled data, the most variable endpoints across laboratories and their associated coefficients of variation (CV) for each generation were: percent abnormal sperm (166-205%), testicular spermatid concentration (126-147%), postimplantation loss (97-104%), primordial follicle counts (69%, only measured in P2 females), and epididymal sperm concentration (52-57%). Absolute and relative prostate and thymus weights, weanling uterine weights, and anogenital distance had CVs of 25-50%. Sources of variability included procedural differences between laboratories, inherent biological variability, and/or small sample sizes for some endpoints. CONCLUSIONS: These inter-laboratory control data provide a means for laboratories to review their performance on reproductive toxicity measures, and provide perspective for interpreting their own control data and data from treated animals.

Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (DGBE): two- and thirteen-week oral toxicity studies in Fischer 344 rats.

Standard toxicologic endpoints, supplemented by additional examinations, were studied for groups of 10 Fischer 344 rats/sex given drinking water formulated to supply 0, 50, 250, or 1000 mg diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (DGBE)/kg/day for 13 weeks. These dose levels were based upon initial investigations using drinking water formulated to supply 0, 1000, 1500 or 2000 mg DGBE/kg/day for two weeks. All rats survived the respective treatment intervals with no adverse treatment-related in-life effects, including no alterations in a functional observational battery. In both studies, rats given > or = 1000 mg/kg/day consumed less water and feed and weighed slightly less than controls. For rats given > or = 1000 mg DGBE/kg/day, the liver and red blood cells (RBC) were the primary target organs although the effects were slight. In the 13-week study, rats given 1000 mg/kg/day had statistically significant increased relative liver weight (7-10%) and hepatic cytochrome P450s (24-39%) and UGT (approximately 16%) levels along with slight, statistically significant, decreases in serum total protein, cholesterol and aspartate aminotransferase. Histopathologically, very slight hepatocyte hypertrophy and increased individual hepatocyte degeneration were found in females only. At 1000 mg/kg/day, the RBC count, hemoglobin (Hgb) and hematocrit (Hct) were minimally, but statistically significantly, decreased (5.1-8.7%) but RBC morphology, RBC indices, reticuloctye count and bone marrow and spleen histopathology were unaffected. Absolute and relative kidney weights statistically significantly increased (6-13%) with an equivocal increase in minor histopathologic changes typical of early spontaneous nephropathy. There were no adverse effects on urinalysis, clinical chemistry, sperm parameters or testis histopathology. At 250 mg/kg/day, there were equivocal decreases (approximately 2-3%) in RBC count, Hgb and Hct that were statistically significant for the RBC count and Hgb, but these changes were within the historical control range. This dose level was considered the no adverse effect level (NOAEL).

The effects of feed restriction during in utero and postnatal development in rats.

This study determined the effects of feed restriction (FR) during in utero and postnatal life on standard reproductive toxicity and developmental immunotoxicity end points. Groups of 26 time-mated CD rats were fed various amounts of Purina 5002 diet from gestation day 7 through lactation. Control rats were fed once per day in amounts based on historical control feed consumption data, while the amounts fed to the FR groups were reduced by 10% (10% FR), 30% (30% FR), or 50% (50% FR) relative to controls. Selected F1 weanlings were necropsied on postnatal day (PND) 22, assessed for immunotoxicity end points between PND 22 and 27 or PND 52 and 56, or maintained on FR through PND 70. Thereafter, half the remaining F1 rats in each group were fed ad lib (recovery subgroup), while the rest continued on FR. Both subgroups were necropsied at 21 weeks of age. In the 10% FR group, slight decreases in maternal body weight had no effect on F1 offspring body weights, but did decrease F1 liver weights. FR at the 30% level reduced maternal body weights by 10-20%, reduced F1 offspring body weights by as much as 21%, caused changes in numerous weanling organ weights, but did not affect reproductive or immune system function. Dams in the 50% FR group were 17-32% lighter than controls, resulting in F1 body weights that were 12-47% lower than controls. F1 estrous cycle length was increased, puberty was delayed by 6 days (males and females), and anogenital distance, epididymal sperm counts, and all organ weights were decreased in this group. Antibody responses were unaffected despite decreased spleen and thymus weights. Essentially all effects of feed restriction showed evidence of reversibility.

Evaluation of the male pubertal onset assay to detect testosterone and steroid biosynthesis inhibitors in CD rats.

The male pubertal onset assay has been recommended by the Endocrine Disrupter Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC) as an alternate Tier I screening assay to detect potential endocrine-active chemicals (EACs). Recently, this assay was evaluated by several laboratories using a variety of dosing schemes. This study used a 30-day dosing period to confirm and extend previous work on the assay's ability to detect steroid biosynthesis inhibitors. Weanling male rats were dosed by gavage from 21 to 50 days of age with vehicle (0.5% methocel) or chemicals from the following EAC classes: an androgen (testosterone propionate [TP], 0.1 or 0.4 mg/kg/day), a broad-spectrum steroid biosynthesis inhibitor (ketoconazole [KETO], 24 mg/kg/day), a 5alpha-reductase inhibitor (finasteride [FIN], 20 or 80 mg/kg/day), a moderately specific aromatase inhibitor (testolactone [TL], 220 mg/kg/day), or a highly specific aromatase inhibitor (fadrozole [FAD], 0.6 or 6.0 mg/kg/day). None of these treatments altered relative thyroid weights. However, TL, KETO, and FIN were positive for endocrine activity based on decreases in one or more reproductive or accessory sex gland organ weights. Of these three inhibitors, only TL significantly increased the age at PPS, indicating that PPS was less sensitive for detecting these EACs. Based on its profile of effects, TL may have been detected as an antiandrogen. TP and FAD were negative in this assay, even at doses that caused effects in other studies. With TP, oral administration limited assay sensitivity such that higher TP doses would be needed for detection. FAD decreased body weight gains, but did not significantly alter any other assay end points; thus, the capacity of this assay to detect aromatase inhibitors remains in question.

Evaluation of the male pubertal assay's ability to detect thyroid inhibitors and dopaminergic agents.

The male pubertal onset assay is under consideration as an alternate Tier I screening assay to detect potential endocrine active chemicals (EACs) acting through a variety of steroid hormone and thyroid hormone receptor-mediated and non-receptor-mediated mechanisms. This study focused on the assay's ability to detect several non-receptor-mediated EACs. Weanling male CD rats (21 days old) were dosed for 30 d by gavage with vehicle (0.5% METHOCEL) or the following EAC classes (mg/kg/d): a potent thyroid agent (6-propylthiouracil, PTU, 240), a weak thyroid agent (phenobarbital, PB, 50 or 100), a dopamine antagonist (haloperidol, HALO, 2 or 4), or a dopamine agonist (bromocryptine, BRC, 10 or 50). In vehicle-treated males, preputial separation (PPS) occurred at 44.4 +/- 2.0 days of age. Age at PPS was delayed with PTU and 50 BRC, treatments that also delayed growth. Absolute testes and/or epididymal weights were decreased by PTU and 100 PB. BRC (50) and PB (100) decreased absolute prostate and seminal vesicle weights. Relative thyroid weights were altered by HALO, PTU, and PB, agents that significantly decreased serum T(4) levels. PTU increased serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) by 8.5 times and markedly altered thyroid histology, whereas HALO and PB did not significantly increase TSH and had marginal effects on thyroid histology. Thus, this assay detected both strong (PTU) and weak (PB) thyroid agents as well as the dopamine agonist BRC; however, its ability to detect dopamine antagonists remains unproven. These results confirm that thyroid weight measurements, although not required in the current male pubertal assay protocol, may add valuable information for interpretation of thyroid effects. Due to the apical nature of the male pubertal assay end points, additional work will be required to establish definitive criteria for a positive result in this assay.

Developmental toxicity of Spinosad administered by gavage to CD rats and New Zealand white rabbits.

The insecticide Spinosad was administered by gavage to pregnant CD(R) rats at 0, 10, 50 or 200 mg/kg/day on gestation days (gd) 6-15 and to New Zealand White rabbits at 0, 2.5, 10 or 50 mg/kg/day on gd-7-19. Rats and rabbits were monitored for clinical signs of toxicity and body weight gains. At gd-21 (rats) or gd-28 (rabbits), maternal organ weights, reproductive parameters, fetal body weights, and fetal external, visceral and skeletal structures were evaluated. Rats given 200 mg/kg/day exhibited a 4% lower body weight on gd-12 and decreased body weight gains on gd-6-16 relative to controls. There was no maternal toxicity at 10 or 50 mg/kg/day, and no developmental toxicity in rats at any dose level. Rabbits given 50 mg/kg/day exhibited decreased feed consumption, reduced fecal output, body weight loss during the initial dosing period (gd-7-10) and a non-statistically significant decrease (31%) in body weight gain during the dosing period (gd-7-20). Two litters aborted due to maternal inanition. There were no maternal effects at lower doses, and no signs of developmental toxicity at any dose. Thus, the maternal no-observed-effect levels (NOEL) were 50 and 10 mg/kg/day in rats and rabbits, respectively, and the embryonal/fetal NOELs were 200 mg/kg/day in rats and 50 mg/kg/day in rabbits.

Postulated human sperm count decline may involve historic elimination of juvenile iodine deficiency: a new hypothesis with experimental evidence in the rat.

Human sperm count studies, historic dietary iodination, and an animal model where neonatal goitrogen administration causes unprecedented testis enlargement, together suggest an hypothesis relevant to the postulated fall in human sperm counts. We present the hypothesis with a supporting study extending the model to include iodine deficiency. In a one-generation rat reproduction study, dams were fed an iodine sufficient (control, 200 ppb I) or deficient (low iodine diet [LID], <20 ppb I) diet from prebreeding through weaning, when male offspring were divided into three groups: 1) controls from iodine sufficient dams, 2) neonatal LID (NLID) from the LID dams, fed control diet postweaning, and 3) chronic LID (CLID) from LID dams, fed a moderate LID (40 ppb I) postweaning. F1 males were euthanized on postnatal day (PND) 133+/-1. Each of the three diet groups comprised two subgroups in which testicular parameters were evaluated: 1) daily sperm production (DSP), sperm motility, morphology, and histopathology, and 2) Sertoli cell and round spermatid morphometry. In the first subgroup, NLID and CLID testes weights were 8.5% and 14.0% heavier than their unusually heavy controls (3.921 g; historical control mean approximately 3.5 g), with proportional DSP increases. Sperm motility, morphology, and testis histopathology were unaffected. In the morphometry subgroup, respective increases in NLID and CLID rats included testes weights (+28.6% and +20.3%), Sertoli cells (+24.8% and +23.9%), and round spermatids (+20.4% and +15.8%). The results indicate that neonatal iodine deficiency can significantly increase spermatogenic function in rats, and support our hypothesis concerning human sperm counts.

Influence of p53 zygosity on select sperm parameters of the mouse.

The influence of p53 gene zygosity on select parameters of mouse sperm was investigated by employing knock-out animal models. The background incidence of sperm shape abnormalities, total sperm count, and DNA double strand breaks were determined in p53 nullizygous (-/-) and heterozygous (+/-) mice and these estimates were compared to the corresponding measures in p53 wild-type (+/+) and the inbred C57Bl6 mouse strains. There were no qualitative differences in the incidence of sperm shape abnormalities and sperm counts regardless of p53 zygosity. However, the number of DNA double strand breaks, as measured by the comet assay, were significantly lower in the p53 knock-out mice. This apparent decrease was interpreted to be the result of a possible change in DNA-protein and/or DNA-DNA cross-linking in the germ cells of the knock-out mice. These data show that there is no evidence of increased incidence of gross alterations in spermatogenesis (no significant loss in sperm production nor any increase in the proportion of abnormal sperm produced) in knock-out mice deficient or absent in p53 protein; however, there appear to be changes at the genomic level where the degree of cross-linking was apparently elevated in DNA from p53 nullizygous and heterozygous mice.

Evaluation of the EDSTAC female pubertal assay in CD rats using 17beta-estradiol, steroid biosynthesis inhibitors, and a thyroid inhibitor.

The Endocrine Disrupter Screening and Testing Advisory Committee has recommended the female pubertal onset assay as a Tier I test to detect potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDs). We evaluated this assay's ability to detect EDs acting through various mechanisms. In two similar experiments, weanling female rats were dosed for 20 days by gavage with vehicle (0.5% methocel) or the following test compounds (mg/kg/day): 17beta-estradiol (E2; 0.1, 2, or 4), ketoconazole (KETO; 24, 50, or 100), finasteride (FIN; 20), testolactone (TL; 220), fadrozole (FAD; 0.6, 1.2, or 6.0) or 6-propylthiouracil (PTU; 240). In vehicle-treated females, mean age at pubertal onset, as evidenced by vaginal opening (VO), varied interexperimentally from 32.3+/-1.6 days to 33.5+/-1.8 days. At 0.1 mg/kg E2, age at VO was reduced slightly to 31.0+/-1.6 days, but not significantly (alpha=0.05). Higher E2 doses (2.0 and 4.0) reduced age at VO to 28 days. KETO delayed VO, but this delay was significant only at 100 mg/kg (39.7+/-2.4 days). FIN and TL had no effect on age at pubertal onset; however, FAD significantly delayed VO. PTU delayed VO to 34.2+/-1.1 days and altered thyroid weight, histology, and hormone levels. With each compound, significant changes in age at VO were accompanied by decreased uterine or ovarian weights. Thus, although this assay did not detect TL or lower doses of E2 (0.1 mg/kg) or KETO (< or = 50 mg/kg), it was capable of detecting EDs operating through a variety of mechanisms.

Developmental toxicity of diethanolamine applied cutaneously to CD rats and New Zealand White rabbits.

Diethanolamine (DEA) was administered cutaneously to pregnant CD rats and New Zealand White rabbits during the periods of major organogenesis, Gestation Days 6-15 for rats and 6-18 for rabbits. Doses employed were 0, 150, 500, and 1500 mg/kg/day for rats and 0, 35, 100, and 350 mg/kg/day for rabbits. Rat dams exhibited reduced body weight at 1500 mg/kg/day, skin irritation and increased kidney weights at 500 and 1500 mg/kg/day, and a slight microcytic anemia with abnormal red blood cell morphology at all dose levels. Rat fetuses had increased incidences of six skeletal variations at 1500 mg/kg/day. Lower doses were without effect on the fetuses. Rabbit dams administered 350 mg/kg/day exhibited various skin lesions, reduced food consumption, and color changes in the kidneys but no hematological changes. Body weight gain was reduced at >/=100 mg/kg/day. There was no evidence of maternal toxicity at 35 mg/kg/day and no evidence of developmental toxicity in rabbits at any dose level. Developmental toxicity was observed only in the rat and only at doses causing significant maternal toxicity, including hematological effects. Due to a dose discrepancy, the no observable effect level (NOEL) for DEA developmental toxicity in rats was adjusted to 380 mg/kg/day. In rabbits, the embryonal/fetal NOEL was 350 mg/kg/day.

2-Methoxyethanol inhibits gap junctional communication in rat myometrial myocytes.

The glycol ethers 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) and 2-ethoxyethanol (2-EE) prolong gestation in rodents. Because gap junctions in the myometrium likely facilitate parturition, the present study examined inhibition of gap junctional communication by 2-ME and 2-EE in myometrial smooth-muscle cell cultures. To measure gap junctional communication, the fluorescent dye Lucifer yellow was injected into cultured cells and the transfer of the dye to adjacent cells was scored with epifluorescence microscopy. The data are presented as the percentage of cells adjacent to the microinjected cell that exhibited dye following microinjection. A 30 min treatment with 32 or 63 mmol/L 2-ME decreased dye transfer to 71% and 63%, respectively (p < or = 0.05; control 90%). Similarly, 2-EE inhibited dye transfer, although myometrial cells were less sensitive to 2-EE compared to 2-ME. Dye transfer returned to control levels after 2 h in the continued presence of 2-ME. The primary metabolite of 2-ME, methoxyacetic acid (MAA), had no effect on dye transfer at concentrations equimolar to 2-ME. Because 2-ME and 2-EE inhibited gap junctional communication only at high concentrations and because the inhibition reversed in the continued presence of the compounds, it is suggested that glycol ethers delay parturition by a mechanism independent of a direct action on myometrial gap junctions.

Elevations of intracellular Ca2+ as a probable contributor to decreased viability in cerebellar granule cells following acute exposure to methylmercury.

In these experiments we examined whether the elevations in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) induced by methylmercury (MeHg)(described in our previous study) might contribute to cerebellar granule cell mortality following exposure to MeHg in vitro. Cells were exposed to 0.5 microM MeHg for 45 min or 1 microM MeHg for 38 min, conditions previously shown to induce elevations in [Ca2+]i in these cells. Control cells were exposed to buffer alone for 60 min. Viability was assessed using the Live/Dead viability/cytotoxicity kit. At 30 min post-MeHg exposure, there was no immediate increase in cell mortality; however, by 3.5 h after the onset of MeHg exposure, cell viability decreased to 74 and 54% of control values for 0.5 and 1.0 microM MeHg, respectively. At 24.5 h after MeHg exposure, cell viability declined to approximately 27%. Losses in cell viability at 3.5 h were prevented by pretreating the granule cells for 65 min with the Ca2+ chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetrakis(acetoxymethyl)ester (BAPTA; 10 microM), then exposing the cells to MeHg in the continued presence of BAPTA; however, at 24.5 h, BAPTA no longer prevented MeHg-induced cell death. Exposure to the Ca2+ channel blockers omega-conotoxin MVIIC (1 microM) or nifedipine (1 microM), previously shown to delay elevations in [Ca2+]i with MeHg exposure in vitro, protected granule cells from MeHg-induced mortality at 3.5 h postexposure. These data suggest that at early time points, MeHg-induced increases in [Ca2+]i may contribute to granule cell mortality; however, the role of Ca2+ at later time points is unclear.

Pathways mediating Ca2+ entry in rat cerebellar granule cells following in vitro exposure to methyl mercury.

Cell imaging and the Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorophore fura-2 were used to examine methyl mercury's effect on Ca2+ homeostasis in rat cerebellar granule cells, a cell type preferentially targeted by methyl mercury. In vitro methyl mercury exposure (0.2-5.0 microM) induced a biphasic rise in fura-2 fluorescence ratio, consisting of a small first phase due to Ca2+ release from intracellular store(s) and a much larger second phase which required Ca2+ influx. The time-to-onset of these fura-2 fluorescence changes was inversely correlated with methyl mercury concentration. When examining various Ca2+ entry pathways as possible targets contributing to Ca2+ influx, we found that excitatory amino acid pathways were not directly involved. In contrast, the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blockers nifedipine and omega-conotoxin-MVIIC significantly delayed the time-to-onset of both phases, a response inconsistent with mere inhibition of Ca2+ entry. The nonselective voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blocker Ni2+ had no effect on the methyl mercury response. Because methyl mercury alters cell membrane potentials, we hypothesized that voltage-dependent Na+ channels were activated initially; however, tetrodotoxin did not alter the methyl mercury-induced increases in fura-2 fluorescence ratio. Thus, methyl mercury alters Ca2+ homeostasis in cerebellar granule cells through nifedipine- and omega-conotoxin-MVIIC-sensitive pathways, suggesting that L-, N-, and/or Q-type Ca2+ channels may play a role in methyl mercury's mode of action or entry.

Nickel-induced increases in gap junctional communication in the uterine cell line SK-UT-1.

Previous studies have suggested that gap junctions may have a role in various uterine functions, including parturition. Because nickel has been demonstrated to increase uterine contractility in vitro, the effect of nickel (II) chloride on gap junctional communication was assessed in a tumorigenic uterine cell line, SK-UT-1 (ATCC HTB 114). Cells were exposed in vitro to 25 and 50 microM NiCl2 for 24 h or 100 microM NiCl2 for 3, 12, and 24 h, then functional gap junctional communication was measured as the transfer of Lucifer yellow dye from microinjected donor cells to their primary neighbor cells. Dye transfer was significantly increased only in cell cultures exposed to 100 microM NiCl2 for 24 h, compared to untreated controls, lower doses, and shorter exposure periods. This response was inhibited by the simultaneous co-treatment of SK-UT-1 cells with magnesium by adding 100 microM MgSO4 to the dosing medium. Possible mechanisms and implications for these findings are discussed.