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POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIP OF MATERNAL TOXICITY, GENERAL STRESS, AND FETAL OUTCOME
Citation:
Chernoff, N., R. Kavlock, P. Beyer, AND D. Miller. POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIP OF MATERNAL TOXICITY, GENERAL STRESS, AND FETAL OUTCOME. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-87/257 (NTIS PB88182415).
Description:
Standard teratology bioassays generally call for a top dose level which is sufficient to induce some form of overt maternal toxicity such as death or weight loss. While the physiological bases for the toxicity vary widely in a compound-related fashion, one underlying factor that remains constant for most induced toxicity is the presence of generalized stress in the affected animals. Previous studies have indicated that pregnant animals treated acutely with toxic levels of a variety of pharmacologically unrelated chemicals produced litters without a recognizable syndrome of defects, except for an increased incidence of supernumerary ribs (SNR). The present study reports on the effects of immobilization stress on the production of SNR in the Sprague-Dawley rat and the CD-1 mouse. An increase in SNR was noted in immobilized mice but not rats. These results suggest that such fetal effects may be the result of general agent-induced maternal stress.