Neuromuscular function and organotin compounds

Mammalian exposure to toxic levels of the trialkyltin compounds, triethyltin (TET) and trimethyltin, results in pathological manifestations largely restricted to the nervous system. The remarkable features of TET toxicity are cerebral edema and muscular weakness. Rats exposed orally to TET (10-30mg TET Br/l of drinking water) progress through an increasingly compromised state beginning with mild ataxia and hindlimb weakness after one week, spastic paresis of the hindlimbs by two weeks; and hindlimb paraplegia and sensory changes by 3 weeks. Histopathological studies of chronic TET-exposed rats report minimal ultrastructural damage to distal peripheral nerves, myelin, and muscle. Chromatolytic reactions are observed in some alpha motor neurons; intramyelinic vacuolization in the ventral roots and horn is substantial by 3 weeks. Myelin vacuolization and degeneration are observed to a lesser extent in the dorsal roots of the spinal cord. Wet weights and myofiber diameters of EDL and soleus muscles are reduced during chronic TET intoxication, but no histopathology is evident using light microscopy. Conduction of compound action potentials in vivo along distal sensory fibers, ventral roots and distal motor fibers (in sciatic n.) is normal in 3 week TET rats as compared to control; however, nerve conduction velocity is decreased in the segment of the H-reflex arc involving the dorsal roots. Earlier studies by Stoner and coworkers led to suggestions that the neuromuscular junction may be preferentially affected by TET and could contribute, in part, to the symptoms of muscular weakness. In support of this hypothesis preliminary studies from our laboratory and others indicate that neurotransmission is functionally depressed at the myoneural junction following chronic TET treatment in vivo or when applied in vitro to isolated muscle preparations. Stimulated, but not unstimulated, release of acetylcholine from the vascular perfused rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation is decreased by TET especially at higher stimulation rates (20 Hz). In vitro administration of TET Br (10(-6)M) results in an irreversible decrease in the amplitude of evoked endplate potentials; chronic in vivo exposure to TET causes a decrease in the resting membrane potential of soleus muscle (in situ recordings) and provokes a peculiar post-stimulus (200Hz bursts) elevation of spontaneous miniature endplate potentials in isolated cut diaphragm preparations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)