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[Changes on neurobehavioral development of the offspring in rats prenataly exposed by phenethyl isothiocyanate]
Yuan Zhi1, Haibo Liu, Guiying Geng
1Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, China CDC, Beijing 100021, China.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in rats at high doses (60 and 120 mg/kg) impaired neurobehavioral development, including learning and memory. Lower doses (15 mg/kg) showed no adverse effects.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Context:
- Prenatal exposure to environmental factors can impact offspring development.
- Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) is a compound found in cruciferous vegetables.
- Understanding PEITC's developmental toxicity is crucial for public health.
Purpose:
- To investigate the effects of prenatal phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) exposure on the postnatal neurobehavioral development of rats.
- To determine dose-dependent effects of PEITC on reflex acquisition, sensory function, motor coordination, and learning.
Summary:
- Pregnant rats exposed to PEITC (15, 60, 120 mg/kg) from day 7-16 of gestation were assessed for F1 pup development.
- Higher PEITC doses (60, 120 mg/kg) delayed reflex development, impaired olfactory discrimination, learning, and memory, and altered neuronal density.
- The 15 mg/kg PEITC dose did not cause significant developmental neurotoxicity or behavioral teratogenesis.
Impact:
- Prenatal PEITC exposure can negatively affect neurobehavioral outcomes in offspring.
- Establishes a no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for PEITC developmental neurotoxicity at 15 mg/kg.
- Informs risk assessment for PEITC exposure during pregnancy.
Objective:
To study the effect of rats prenatal exposed to phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) on the postnatal growth and neurobehavioral development of rats.
Methods:
Pregnant adult rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups, of which 3 groups were exposed to PEITC at doses of 15, 60 and 120 mg/kg respectively from the 7th to 16th day of gestation, and their F1 pups were observed the impact of PEITC on the age acquisition of two reflexes (cliff avoidance, surface righting) and sensuous function (auditory startle and olfactory discrimination), movement and coordination functions (forelimb hanging) and learning and memory (Y-maze test). F1 pups' brain tissues were taken and neuronal morphology changes were observed with pathology staining.
Results:
Compared to the control group, 60 and 120 mg/kg groups exposed inuterus caused the F1 rat pups' cliff avoidance, surface righting and olfactory discrimination development delaying,and their learning and memory abilities were impaired. The increase to 0 -1 level in histological grades and decrease to 142 +/- 6.7 in neuronal density in the F1 pups of 120 mg/kg group were proved.
Conclusion:
PEITC exposure inuterus may impaire the F1 pups' neuro-behavior development and the abilities of learning, and the 15 mg/kg level of PEITC has no effects on developmental neurotoxicity and behavioral teratogenesis.
