Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Teratogenicity and metabolism of water-soluble forms of vitamin A in the pregnant rat

Conference · · FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States)
OSTI ID:6057467
; ;  [1]
  1. Iowa State Univ., Ames (United States)

Retinoyl {beta}-glucuronide, unlike retinoic acid, has been shown to be non-teratogenic when administered orally, even in large doses, to pregnant rats. The degree to which water-solubility is associated with low teratogenicity is not known. Other water-soluble forms of vitamin A have now been synthesized in our laboratory and are being evaluated for teratogenicity. New water-soluble forms of vitamin A were administered orally to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats in a single dose of 0.35 mmole/kg bw on day 8 of gestation. On day 19, the dams were sacrificed and the litters were examined. Control animals received either vehicle only or an equivalent dose of all-trans retinoic acid. Maternal and fetal tissues were taken and analyzed by HPLC for vitamin A metabolites. In another experiment, a large single oral dose of the radiolabelled water-soluble compound was administered on day 10. At either 30 minutes or 1 hour after the dose, dams were sacrificed and the embryos analyzed both for radioactivity and for specific metabolites. In contrast to retinoyl {beta}-glucuronide, retinoyl {beta}-glucose is highly teratogenic under identical conditions. Thus, water-solubility does not seem to be the determining factor in the teratogenicity of retinoic acid conjugates.

OSTI ID:
6057467
Report Number(s):
CONF-9104107--
Journal Information:
FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States), Journal Name: FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States) Vol. 4:3; ISSN 0892-6638; ISSN FAJOE
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English