Germ cell studies in mice after prolonged exposure to nitrous oxide
Male and female Swiss Webster (SW) mice, age 13 to 14 weeks, were exposed by inhalation for 4 hr per day, 5 days per week, for 14 weeks, to either room air, 0.5% nitrous oxide, 5.0% nitrous oxide, or 50% nitrous oxide. Murine germ cells were examined for evidence of injury after this exposure. A group of male mice were treated with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) as a positive control for sperm abnormalities while a group of female mice were treated with 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) as a positive control for oocyte destruction. There were no significant differences among the four inhalation exposure groups in testes weight, percentage of abnormally shaped sperm, sperm count, or histologic appearance of the testes; the mean percentage (+/- SE) of abnormal sperm ranged from 8.9 +/- 2.4 (5.0% nitrous oxide) to 13.5 +/- 0.5 (50% nitrous oxide) with a concurrent control value of 10.4 +/- 2.3%. In the positive control experiment, 25.2 +/- 4.1% of sperm from mice treated with MMS were abnormal compared with 2.5 +/- 0.3% of sperm from mice treated with saline (p less than 0.001), indicating that sperm of SW mice are sensitive to chemical damage. There was no significant difference between the mean number of oocytes in mice treated with 50% nitrous oxide (33.3 +/- 14.4) and in control mice (29.8 +/- 8.0). In the positive control experiment, mice treated with 3-MC had significantly fewer (p less than 0.001) primordial oocytes, 67.2 +/- 19.5 compared with control mice, 222.4 +/- 21.9, indicating that this strain is sensitive to chemical damage of the ovary. Thus, murine germ cells showed no evidence of toxic effects due to prolonged exposure to nitrous oxide.
- Research Organization:
- Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, California
- OSTI ID:
- 5680281
- Journal Information:
- Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.; (United States), Vol. 67:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
NITROUS OXIDE
TOXICITY
3-METHYLCHOLANTHRENE
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
INHALATION
INJURIES
METHYL METHANESULFONATE
MICE
OOCYTES
OVARIES
SENSITIVITY
SPERMATOZOA
TESTES
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
BODY
CHALCOGENIDES
ESTERS
FEMALE GENITALS
GAMETES
GERM CELLS
GONADS
HYDROCARBONS
INTAKE
MALE GENITALS
MAMMALS
MUTAGENS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
RODENTS
SULFONIC ACID ESTERS
VERTEBRATES
560305* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Vertebrates- (-1987)