Aqueductal stenosis and development of hydrocephalus in prenatal methylmercury poisoning in mice

Conference · Sat Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5384646

Choi, B H; Caple, M; Espinosa, T; Kim, D; Song, D

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant that can cause irreparable CNS damage, particularly upon the developing fetal CNS. As an ongoing study of the effects of MeHg upon the developing CNS, timed-pregnant C57BL/6J mice were poisoned by intraperitoneal injections of methylmercuric chloride (MMC), 12 mg/kg, in divided doses on E-14, 15 and 16. In another experiment, the pregnant animals were fed MMC (2 mg/kg/day) in their drinking water, starting on E-2 and continuing throughout gestation. The animals were allowed to come to term and the offspring sacrificed on postnatal days 5, 10, and 20. In both of these experiments, up to 9% of the offspring affected by prenatal MeHg poisoning developed marked hydrocephalus. Serial on ..mu..m sections of the aqueductus revealed severe stenosis associated with marked edema and spongy changes of ependymal cells and surrounding neuropil. No inflammatory or gliotic reactions of the periaqueductal tissue was seen. These changes are very similar to those observed in congenital hydrocephalus in humans and suggest that toxic damage to developing ependymal cells due to prenatal exposures of agents such as MeHg may have etiological role in some of the human congenital hydrocephalus. The details of the scanning and transmission electron microscopy along with demonstration of mercury grains in tissues will be presented.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Irvine
• OSTI ID: 5384646
• Report Number(s): CONF-8604222-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States) Journal Volume: 45:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550900 -- Pathology
560305* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Vertebrates-- (-1987)
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
CONGENITAL DISEASES
DISEASES
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
INGESTION
INJECTION
INTAKE
INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTION
MALFORMATIONS
MAMMALS
MERCURY COMPOUNDS
METHYLMERCURY
MICE
MICROSCOPY
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC MERCURY COMPOUNDS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
PREGNANCY
PRENATAL EXPOSURE
RODENTS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
TERATOGENESIS
TOXICITY
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
VERTEBRATES