Effects of acute alcohol administration on maternal calcium metabolism and fetal development in mice

Pregnant C57Bl/10J mice were treated intraperitoneally with alcohol (Group A) or saline (control) on Day 7 of gestation. On Day 7, at 0 hour and again at 4 hour, Group A received 0.020 ml/GM body weight of 25% (v/v) alcohol, while control mice received 0.020 ml/GM body weight of physiological saline. The injection schedule specified corresponds to a specific stage of fetal development, namely gastrulation. On Day 13 of gestation, all animals were placed in individual metabolic cages to monitor both food and water intake and urinary output. The animals were sacrificed on Day 14. Blood was withdrawn and the serum was used for analyses. In addition, resorption sites within the uterine horns were recorded and fetuses examined. Group A animals had significantly lower serum calcium (Ca) than the controls (6.1 +/- 0.7 mG% versus 9.6 +/- 1.6 mG%, P less than .01). By contrast, the same alcohol injected mice had higher serum phosphate (P) than the controls (18.2 +/- 5.9 mG% versus 12.3 +/- 4.0 mG%, P less than .05). Urinary Ca levels were lower (P less than .05) while urinary P values tended to be higher in alcohol injected mothers. Furthermore, Group A mice had litters which were smaller in size, lower in average fetal body weight and had a higher incidence of resorption (18%) than control mice. Examination of the viable fetuses showed that 53% of those from alcohol treated mothers had facial abnormalities while only 12% of the fetuses from the controls looked abnormal. The results indicate that exposure to acute alcohol in this early stage of pregnancy creates disturbances in maternal Ca metabolism, which may be ultimately related to the observed fetal abnormalities.