Noninvasive high-resolution ultrasound reveals structural and functional deficits in dimethadione-exposed fetal rat hearts in utero.

BACKGROUND: We previously showed dimethadione (DMO), the N-demethylated metabolite of the anticonvulsant trimethadione, induces ventricular septation defects (VSD) and other heart anomalies in rat (Weston et al., 2011). Because of the relationship between cardiac structure and function, we hypothesized that DMO-induced structural defects of the heart are associated with in utero functional deficits. To test the hypothesis, the goals were (1) define the parameters for ultrasound in the rat conceptus, and; (2) use ultrasound to identify structural and functional deficits following DMO treatment. METHODS: Different ultrasound modes (B-mode, M-mode, and Pulse-wave Doppler) using four high-resolution ultrasound transducer heads of varying frequency (25-40 MHz) were tested on gestational day (GD) 14, 15, 16, 17, and 21. Having identified the optimal conditions, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered six 300 mg/kg doses of DMO every 12 hr beginning at 19:00 hr on GD 8 to generate conceptuses with a high incidence of VSD. RESULTS: The three ultrasound modalities were used to identify VSD and several novel and rare structural heart anomalies (cardiac effusions and bifurcated septum) in live rat fetuses. DMO-treated hearts had an array of functional deficits including a decrease in mean heart rate, ejection fraction, and cardiac output and increased incidence of bradycardia and dysrhythmia. CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasound biomicroscope is an effective tool for the real-time characterization of the structure and function of embryo/fetal rat hearts. DMO causes significant deficits to in utero heart function for up to ten days (GD 21) following its final administration, suggesting long-term or possible permanent changes cardiac function.

Dimethadione-induced fetotoxicity in rats.

The fetotoxic potential of dimethadione was studied in rats given single daily oral dosages of 0, 54, 433 or 541 mg/kg on days 1--21 or 6--15 of gestation. No maternal toxicity was observed following treatment on days 6--15. When administered from days 1 to 21 only the highest dose (541 mg/kg) produced a significant reduction in maternal body weight gain. Dimethadione caused a dose-related decrease in fetal weight and an increased incidence of umbilical hernia, ecchymoses and subcutaneous edema. There were also increased incidences of non-specific skeleton defects which consisted of unilateral or bilateral wavy ribs, additional ribs (14th rib, uni- and bilateral), retarded ossification of calvaria and a wide variety of sternal defects. Specific defects were bent radius and ulna, and bent tibia and fibula which increased with increasing dosages of dimethadione. Fetal mortality and incidence of skeletal anomalies were higher when the treatment was given on days 1--21 of gestation than on days 6--15 of pregnancy.