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U.S. Department of Energy
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Effects of benzene on erythropoiesis in the fetal mouse

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5335692
Benzene toxicity in humans and adult animals appears as a functional disturbance of hematopoiesis. The work presented here examined the effects of benzene on the fetal mouse and its blood forming organ, the liver. The study includes the effects on macromolecular synthesis in the fetal liver erythropoietic cells and the general effects of benzene on the development of the fetus. Although biochemical changes were noted in the liver of the fetus when the female was exposed to benzene, no histopathologic changes were found. The effects on DNA and heme synthesis in the fetal liver cell population suggest disturbances in the proliferation and maturation phases of the developing red blood cell. The biochemical perturbations observed in the erythropoietic activity of the fetal mouse liver appeared to have no long term effects on the fetus. It is suggested that the temporary effect on the fetus may be the result of inteplay between an increase in the females' rate of metabolism of benzene and the ability of the fetal liver to recover rapidly from disturbances in the erythropoietic cell cycle. Only when the dosing period was extended from day 11 of gestation to term, and the maternal health appeared to be deteriorating, was the viability of the litter affected.
OSTI ID:
5335692
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English