The effects of methylazoxymethanol on the rat embryo using a whole embryo culture method

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 2001, Vol.85 (suppl.1), p.132-132
• Main Authors: Masaharu Akita, Hitoshi Kontani, Atsushi Yokoyama, Yukiaki Kuroda
• Format: Article
• Language: Japanese
• ISSN: 0021-5198

In the rats treated prenatally with methylazoxymethanol (MAM) the some malformations in the brain and some behavioral abnormalities were reported. But there are a few experiments studying the effects of MAM on rat embryos. Therefore, we studied the effect of MAM using our whole embryo culture method. In the present experiment the effects were investigated in the rats embryos whose developmental stage was on day 11 gestation and those were cultured for 48 hr. After the culture the crown-rump length (CRL), the number of somites and the protein content per embryo were measured. The mean CRL of embryos treated with MAM (250 μg/ml) was shortened by 25% of that of the control embryos. But there was no difference in the number of somites between the embryos treated and untreated with MAM. The reduction of the body width was confirmed with the naked eye, when compared with that of the control. Total protein content of the embryos treated with MAM was reduced to 30-40% of that of the control. The microcephaly was observed about 90 % of the embryos treated with MAM and in particular, the growth of the antinial prosencephalon was inhibited and the dysgenesis of the mesencephalon and occipitalis was observed. The results suggest that MAM acts directly on the embryos and the effects are related to behavioral abnormalities in after maturation.