Julia D. George

The Developmental Toxicity of Bisphenol A in Rats and Mice

Bisphenol A (BPA) was evaluated for developmental toxicity in CD rats (0, 160, 320, or 640 mg/kg/day) and CD-1 mice (0, 500, 750, 1000, or 1250 mg/kg/day) dosed daily by gastric intubation on Gestational Days 6 through 15. Timed-pregnant dams were sacrificed 1 day prior to parturition, the uterine contents were examined, and all fetuses were examined for external, visceral, and skeletal malformations. In rats, maternal weight gain during gestation, weight gain corrected for gravid uterine weight, and weight gain during treatment were significantly reduced at all BPA doses. Gravid uterine weight and average fetal body weight per litter were not affected by BPA. No increase in percentage resorptions per litter or percentage fetuses malformed per litter was detected. In mice, maternal mortality occurred at all BPA doses, reaching 18% at the high dose, which also produced a significant decrease in maternal body weight gain during gestation and treatment. Weight gain corrected for gravid uterine weight was not affected by BPA. Reductions in gravid uterine weight and average fetal body weight were observed with the 1250 mg/kg dose of BPA. Relative maternal liver weight was increased at all doses of BPA. There was a significant increase in the percentage of resorptions per litter with 1250 mg BPA/kg/day. Malformation incidence was not altered by BPA. Thus, BPA treatment at maternally toxic dose levels during organogenesis produced fetal toxicity in mice but not in rats and did not alter fetal morphologic development in either species.

Codeine: Developmental Toxicity in Hamsters and Mice

Timed-pregnant LVG Syrian hamsters and Swiss CD-1 mice were dosed orally twice daily (b.i.d.) with codeine in water on Gestational Days (gd) 5-13 (0, 10, 50, or 150 mg/kg, b.i.d.--hamsters) or 6-15 (0, 37.5, 75, 150, or 300 mg/kg, b.i.d.--mice). Dams were necropsied on gd 14 (hamsters) or 17 (mice), and fetuses were weighed, sexed, and examined for external, visceral, and skeletal malformations. No maternal deaths were observed in hamsters, while 19% of the pregnant mice in the high-dose group died. Maternal weight gain (gestational and treatment periods) and gravid uterine weights were significantly depressed in hamsters (150 mg/kg, b.i.d.) and in mice (300 mg/kg, b.i.d.). However, the corrected weight gain for both species, although decreased, was not significantly different from that of the controls. In both species, maternal liver weights (relative) were significantly increased in the high-dose groups. There were increases in the percentage resorptions per pregnant dam and in the proportion of litters with 100% resorptions in the high-dose groups of both species. Considering only live litters, the number of live fetuses per litter and the sex ratio were unaffected in both species. Mean fetal body weights were also significantly decreased in the 50 and 150 mg/kg, b.i.d. (hamsters), and the 150 and 300 mg/kg, b.i.d. (mice), groups. The no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAELs) for developmental toxicity were 10 (hamsters) and 75 (mice) mg/kg, b.i.d., whereas the NOAELs for maternal toxicity were 50 (hamsters) and 150 (mice) mg/kg, b.i.d. The predominant structural malformation in hamsters was meningoencephalocele (high-dose group only), affecting 3% of fetuses and 19% of litters (neither statistically significant). Codeine did not induce any increase in structural malformations in mice. Thus, codeine produced developmental toxicity (as indicated by decreased fetal body weight) at doses below those producing maternal toxicity in both hamsters and mice. In the hamster, the more sensitive species to codeine developmental toxicity, effects were observed at a total daily dose of 100 mg/kg, which is only 11 times the maximum human therapeutic oral dose.

Reproductive Toxicity of Boric Acid in Swiss (CD-1) Mice: Assessment Using the Continuous Breeding Protocol

The potential reproductive toxicity of boric acid (BORA) in CD-1 mice (Swiss) was evaluated using the Reproductive Assessment by Continuous Breeding (RACB) Protocol. BORA was administered in the feed for 27 weeks to male and female Swiss (CD-1) mice at concentrations of 0, 1000, 4500, or 9000 ppm. Estimated doses, based on feed consumption and body weight, averaged 152, 636, and 1262 mg/kg body wt during Week 1 for males for 1000, 4500, and 9000 ppm, respectively. During 14 weeks of cohabitation, fertility of F0 mice was partially reduced at 4500 ppm and totally eliminated at 9000 ppm. No litters, dead or alive, were produced by 9000 ppm cohabited pairs. Among the litters born at 4500 ppm, live litter size and body weight were significantly reduced. A crossover mating trial of control and 4500 ppm groups confirmed the male as the affected sex, with fertility rates and the mating index significantly lower in the 4500 male x 0 ppm female group. At necropsy, after 27 weeks of BORA exposure, dose-related changes were present in F0 males for reduced body and reproductive organ weights, increased incidence of abnormal sperm, decreased sperm concentration and motility, and seminiferous tubule degeneration. In the 4500 ppm females, dietary BORA for 27 weeks caused significantly decreased weights of kidney/adrenals and livers; kidney/adrenal weight was also reduced in 4500 ppm males. The last litters of the control and 1000 ppm females, born in the 14-week breeding phase, were reared to 74 days of age and then mated in nonsibling pairs within treatment groups. These F1 mice had normal fertility, but the adjusted mean body weight of F2 pups was decreased. These data establish the reproductive toxicity of BORA in CD-1 mice and demonstrate that the male is the most sensitive sex.

Assessment of the reproductive and developmental toxicity of pesticide/fertilizer mixtures based on confirmed pesticide contamination in California and Iowa groundwater.

Pesticides and fertilizers, as used in modern agriculture, contribute to the overall low-level contamination of groundwater sources. In order to determine the potential of pesticide and fertilizer mixtures to produce reproductive or developmental toxicity at concentrations up to 100 x the median level found in groundwater, we prepared and studied two mixtures of pesticides and a fertilizer (ammonium nitrate). One mixture containing aldicarb, atrazine, dibromochloropropane, 1,2-dichloropropane, ethylene dibromide, and simazine plus ammonium nitrate was considered to be a representative of groundwater contamination in California (CAL). The other, containing alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, metolachlor, metribuzin, and ammonium nitrate, simulated groundwater contamination in Iowa (IOWA). Each mixture was administered in the drinking water of either Swiss CD-1 mice during a Reproductive Assessment by Continuous Breeding study or pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (gd 6-20) at three dose levels (1x, 10x, and 100x) where 1x was the median concentration of each pesticide component as determined in the groundwater surveys in California or Iowa. Unlike conventional toxicology studies, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the health effects of realistic human concentrations. Thus, the testing concentrations are probably well below the maximally tolerated dose. Propylene glycol was used as the solubilizer for the pesticides in drinking water formulations in both studies. In the reproductive study, neither mixture caused any clinical signs of toxicity, changes in food or water consumption, or body weight in either F0 or F1 mice at doses up to 100x the median groundwater concentrations. There were no treatment-related effects on fertility or any measures of reproductive performance of either the F0 or the F1 generation mice exposed to either CAL or IOWA at up to 100x. Similarly, measures of spermatogenesis, epididymal sperm concentration, percentage motile sperm, percentage abnormal sperm, and testicular and epididymal histology were normal. In the developmental study, CAL- or IOWA-exposed females did not exhibit any significant treatment-related clinical signs of toxicity. No adverse effects of CAL or IOWA were observed for measures of embryo/fetal toxicity, including resorptions per litter, live litter size, or fetal body weight. CAL or IOWA did not cause an increased incidence of fetal malformations or variations. In summary, administration of these pesticide/fertilizer mixtures at levels up to 100-fold greater than the median concentrations in groundwater supplies in California or Iowa did not cause any detectable reproductive (mice), general, or developmental toxicity (rats).

Reproductive Toxicity of Tricresyl Phosphate in a Continuous Breeding Protocol in Swiss (CD-1) Mice

The effects of a mixture of tricresyl phosphate isomers on reproductive performance in Swiss (CD-1) mice were evaluated using a continuous breeding protocol. Tricresyl phosphate (TCP) was mixed into the feed at 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2% by weight. Although the fertility index was not changed in the animals consuming the high-concentration feed, the number of litters per pair decreased in a dose-related fashion, and the proportion of pups born alive, and their weight, was significantly decreased in the high-dose group. A crossover mating trial found impaired fertility in both males and females exposed to 0.2% TCP, with a greater effect in females. Histopathology of the F0 pairs revealed dose-related seminiferous tubule atrophy, and decreased testis and epididymal weights in the high-dose males, while the female reproductive tract showed no histopathologic changes. There were dose-related changes in the adrenals of both sexes, and body weight was depressed in both sexes at the highest concentration. The last litter born in the 98-day breeding phase was reared to age 74 days and then mated within the control and two of the treatment groups (0.0, 0.05, and 0.1% TCP; there were too few offspring in the 0.2% group). There was a decrease in the fertility index in the 0.1% TCP group, and a decreased proportion of liveborn and number of liveborn pups per litter. In the F1 males at necropsy, sperm concentration and morphology were normal at termination, although motility was decreased in both the 0.05% and the 0.1% groups compared to controls. These data show that TCP impaired fertility in both sexes of mice in the F0 generation and affected sperm motility at even the lowest dose in F1 males.

Formamide and Dimethylformamide: Reproductive Assessment by Continuous Breeding in Mice

Reproductive toxicity in Swiss mice, during chronic exposure to formamide (FORM) or dimethylformamide (DMF), was evaluated using the Reproductive Assessment by Continuous Breeding Protocols. FORM administered in drinking water at 0, 100, 350, and 750 ppm (approximately 20 to 200 mg/kg/d) reduced fertility and litter size in F0 animals without generalized toxicity at 750 ppm FORM. Crossover matings suggested that females were the affected sex. After F1 mating, FORM reduced F2 litter size, increased days to litter, reduced relative ovarian weight, and lengthened estrous cycles at 750 ppm. The No-Observed-Adverse-Effect-Level for generalized toxicity was 750 ppm for the F0 and 350 ppm for the F1 generation. Reproductive performance was normal at 350 ppm for both F0 and F1 mice. Chronic exposure to DMF in drinking water at 0, 1000, 4000, and 7000 ppm (approximately 200 to 1300 mg/kg/d) reduced fertility by the first litter at 4000 ppm, reduced body weight in F0 females at 7000 ppm, and increased liver weights at all doses in both sexes. A crossover mating at 7000 ppm identified F0 females as the affected sex. F1 postnatal survival was reduced at > or =4000 ppm DMF. F1 mating reduced F2 litter size and live pup weight at > or =1000 ppm. At necropsy, body weight of F1 males and females was reduced at > or =4000 ppm. DMF-treated pups (both F1 and F2) and F1 adults had cranial and sternebral skeletal malformations. Only DMF caused overt developmental toxicity. A No-Observed-Adverse-Effect-Level for DMF was not established.

The developmental toxicity of orally administered theophylline in rats and mice

Theophylline (THEO), a widely prescribed anti-asthmatic, was evaluated for developmental toxicity. It was administered continuously on Gestational Days 6 through 15 to pregnant Sprague-Dawley (CD) rats in the feed (0, 0.15, 0.30, or 0.40%) and to pregnant Swiss (CD-1) mice in the drinking water (0, 0.075, 0.15, or 0.20%). Estimated intake of THEO for rats was 0, 124, 218, or 259 mg/kg/day, while for mice it was 0, 282, 372, or 396 mg/kg/day. In rats, maternal weight gain parameters (weight gain during gestation and treatment, as well as corrected weight gain) decreased at 0.40%. While food consumption was lower only in the 0.40% treatment group, water consumption was higher in all treated groups. There was a dose-related decreasing trend in gravid uterine weight. The number of live fetuses per litter decreased at 0.40% and the average male and female fetal weight per litter decreased at 0.30 and 0.40%. There was no increase in malformations. In mice, maternal corrected body weight and weight gain during gestation decreased at 0.15 and 0.20%, and weight gain during treatment and gravid uterine weight decreased at 0.20%. Water consumption was reduced by as much as 30-45% of controls at 0.15 and 0.20%, respectively, while food consumption did not change with THEO treatment. There was an increase in percentage resorptions per litter and a decrease in the average male and female fetal weight per litter at 0.15 and 0.20%. An increasing trend was noted for percentage malformed fetuses per litter, and percentage litters with externally malformed fetuses were slightly increased in the mid- and high-dose groups. However, these increases were not statistically significant. In summary, there were developmental effects seen in rats at a dose (0.30%) that did not produce overt maternal toxicity, but the adverse developmental effects in mice were observed at doses that caused reduced maternal water consumption and body weight gain. It is possible that water deprivation contributed to the effects seen in mice after THEO treatment. For maternal toxicity, no observable adverse effect levels (NOAELs) were 218 mg/kg for rats and 282 mg/kg for mice. NOAELs for developmental toxicity were 124 mg/kg for rats and 282 mg/kg for mice. These NOAELs are approximately 10- to 30-fold greater than doses required to maintain humans on serum THEO concentrations that are clinically useful.

The developmental toxicity of diethylene and triethylene glycol dimethyl ethers in rabbits

Diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (diEGdiME) and triethylene glycol dimethyl ether (triEGdiME), widely used organic solvents, are structurally related to several compounds that produce reproductive and developmental toxicity, including teratogenicity in laboratory animals. In the present studies, diEGdiME (0, 25, 50, 100, or 175 mg/kg/day) or triEGdiME (0, 75, 125, 175, or 250 mg/kg/day) were administered by gavage in distilled water to timed-pregnant New Zealand white rabbits (15-25 dams/group) during major organogenesis [Gestational Days (gd) 6-19]. Treated females were euthanized on gd 30, uterine contents were examined, and live fetuses were examined for morphological alterations. In the diEGdiMe study, evidence of maternal toxicity, per se, was observed only at 175 mg/kg/day with 15% mortality among treated females compared to 4% among controls. No significant maternal toxicity was observed in the 25 mg/kg/day group, and only minimal maternal toxicity (decreased maternal weight gain during treatment) was observed at 50 and 100 mg/kg/day compared to the vehicle control group. The no-observed-adverse-effect level for developmental toxicity in rabbits for diEGdiME was 50 mg/kg/day. The incidences of prenatal mortality and malformed live fetuses were significantly above controls at 100 and 175 mg/kg/day. Malformations observed most frequently included fusion of ribs to each other and hydronephrosis; clubbing of the limbs without underlying bone deformities, a variation, was also observed. In the triEGdiME study, clinical signs of toxicity were minimal and there was no increased maternal mortality. Maternal body weight and gravid uterine weight were significantly reduced at 250 mg/kg/day, whereas maternal weight gain during treatment was significantly depressed at doses of 175 mg/kg/day and above.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Reproductive Effects of Diethylene Glycol and Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether in Swiss CD-1 Mice Assessed by a Continuous Breeding Protocol

Diethylene glycol (DEG) and diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DEGEE) were evaluated for reproductive toxicity in CD-1 mice using a continuous breeding protocol. Compounds were administered in the drinking water at 0, 0.35, 1.75, and 3.5% w/v (DEG) or 0, 0.25 1.25, and 2.5% w/v (DEGEE). Exposure of the breeding pairs to 3.5% DEG for 14 weeks produced statistically significant decreases in the number of litters per pair, live pups per litter, proportion of pups born alive, and live pup weight. There was also a significant increase in the cumulative days to litter and a significant decrease in the number of pairs producing the third, fourth, and fifth litters for the 3.5% DEG-exposed mice. A crossover mating trial of the F0 mice to determine the affected sex was inconclusive, but suggested that offspring development was compromised in females exposed to 3.5% DEG. Slight maternal (F0) toxicity was noted for the 3.5 DEG group (7% decrease in body weight). The F1 generation, at 3.5% DEG, had decreased body weights at birth and exhibited poor postnatal survival. At the intermediate dose of DEG, body weights of both sexes were depressed at weaning, at onset of mating, and at necropsy. However, no adverse effects on reproduction were observed. DEGEE had no effect on reproduction in the F0 or F1 generation mice despite a 34% decrease in cauda epididymal sperm motility in the F1 males at 2.5% DEGEE. Other signs of toxicity observed in these F1 mice included increased relative liver weights. These data indicate that DEG is a reproductive toxicant in Swiss mice affecting fertility and reproductive performance, albeit at high doses (equivalent to 6.1 g/kg/day). However, its monoethyl derivative, DEGEE, is without adverse effects on fertility and reproductive performance.

Reproductive Effects of 4-Vinylcyclohexene in Swiss Mice Assessed by a Continuous Breeding Protocol

4-Vinylcyclohexene (VCH), a dimer of 1,3-butadiene, was evaluated for reproductive toxicity in Swiss (CD-1) mice using the continuous breeding protocol (NTP, 1989). VCH in corn oil was administered by gavage at doses of 0, 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day to animals that were housed in same sex pairs for 1 week and then cohabited in breeding pairs for 14 weeks. During cohabitation, newborn litters were euthanized immediately after evaluation on postnatal Day (PND) 0. Litters born after Week 15 were reared until PND 21, when all F0 animals and low- and mid-dose F1 weanlings were humanely killed without a necropsy. At PND 74 +/- 10, control and high-dose F1 animals were cohabited within groups for 1 week and necropsied after delivery of the litters. In F0 breeding pairs, VCH did not affect measures of reproductive competence, including initial fertility, litters per pair, live litter size, or the proportion of pups born alive. Pup weight was decreased (4%) in the high-dose group relative to controls. High-dose F0 females exhibited slight general toxicity, manifested as an 8% difference in body weight compared to controls. VCH did not adversely affect preweaning growth or survival in the F1 generation. VCH had no effect on the reproductive competence of the F1 generation. High-dose F1 adult males and females had decreased body weight. At necropsy, increased relative liver weight (males 9% and females 8%) and sperm motility (although not thought to be biologically significant) were observed in the 500 mg/kg VCH group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)