Aspirin dose-dependently reduces alcohol-induced birth defects and prostaglandin E levels in mice

The purpose of the present study was threefold. The first purpose was to determine if aspirin (ASA) decreases alcohol-induced birth defects in mice in a dose-dependent fashion. The second purpose was to see if the antagonism of alcohol-induced birth defects afforded by ASA pretreatment was related to dose-dependent decreases in prostaglandin E (PGE) levels in uterine/embryo tissue. The third purpose was to determine if ASA pretreatment altered maternal blood alcohol level. In experiments 1 and 2, pregnant C57BL/6J mice were administered ASA (0, 18.75, 37.5, 75, 150, or 300 mg/kg) on gestation day 10. One hour following the subcutaneous injection of ASA, mice received alcohol (5.8 g/kg) or an isocaloric sucrose solution intragastrically. In experiment 1 the incidence of birth defects was assessed in fetuses delivered by caesarean section on gestation day 19. In experiment 2 uterine/embryo tissue samples were collected on gestation day 10 1 hr following alcohol intubation for subsequent PGE analysis. In experiment 3 blood samples were taken at five time points following alcohol intubation from separate groups of alcohol-treated pregnant mice pretreated with 150 mg/kg ASA or vehicle. The results from the three experiments indicated that 1) ASA dose-dependently reduced the frequency of alcohol-induced birth defects in fetuses examined at gestation day 19, (2) ASA decreased the levels of PGE in gestation day 10 uterine/embryo tissue in a similar dose-dependent fashion, and 3) ASA pretreatment did not significantly influence maternal blood alcohol levels. These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that PGs may play an important role in mediating the teratogenic actions of alcohol.