Hirako A, Furukawa S, Takeuchi T, Sugiyama A. Effect of methotrexate exposure at late gestation on development of telencephalon in rat fetal brain.
J Vet Med Sci 2015;
78:213-20. [PMID:
26369365 PMCID:
PMC4785109 DOI:
10.1292/jvms.15-0389]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Pregnant rats were treated with 30 mg/kg of methotrexate (MTX) on gestation day (GD) 16, and fetal brains
were examined time-dependently. On GD 20, the appearance of the telencephalon in the MTX group was different
from that in the control group, and the major axis of the telencephalon of the MTX group was shortened,
compared to that of the control group. In the sagittal section of the telencephalon in the MTX group on GD 20,
histopathological findings of deformation and narrowing of the cerebral ventricle, the disturbance of the
arrangement of the marginal cell layer of subventricular zone (SVZ) and thickening of telencephalic wall,
cortical plate and ventricular zone (VZ)/SVZ were possibly attributable to neuronal migration disorders by
MTX. Through all the experimental period, few pyknotic cells or TUNEL-positive cells were observed in the
VZ/SVZ of the telencephalic wall and striatum in the control group. On the other hand, in the VZ/SVZ of the
telencephalic wall and striatum in the MTX group, pyknotic cells or TUNEL-positive cells were observed on GD
17, and they increased significantly on GD18 and then decreased to the control levels from GD 19 onward. The
phospho-Histone H3-positive rate decreased remarkedly in the VZ/SVZ of the telencephalic wall and striatum of
the MTX group on GDs 17 and 18, compared to the control group, but they recovered on and after GD 19. These
results suggested that there was a high possibility that development of the telencephalon in this period
required strong folic acid.
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