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The Effect of Nanoparticles in Rats During Critical Periods of Pregnancy
by
Violeta Žalgevičienė 1,2,*, Vytautas Kulvietis 2,3, Danutė Bulotienė 2, Janina Didžiapetrienė 2 and Ričardas Rotomskis 2,3
Violeta Žalgevičienė 1,2,*, Vytautas Kulvietis 2,3, Danutė Bulotienė 2, Janina Didžiapetrienė 2 and Ričardas Rotomskis 2,3
1
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University
2
Biomedical Physics Laboratory, Institute of Oncology, Vilnius University
3
Laser Research Center, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Lithuania
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Medicina 2012, 48(5), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina48050037
Received: 5 December 2011 / Accepted: 6 June 2012 / Published: 11 June 2012
Background and Objective. Nanotechnology works with substances at a nanometer scale, and it offers many solutions for biomedicine. Nanoparticles (NPs) have been shown as effective agents for imaging, drug delivery, pathogen detection, etc. However, to date, NP toxicity is poorly known. The aim of our study was to investigate the embryotoxicity and teratogenicity of quantum dots (QDs) at the different stages of rat embryogenesis.
Materials and Methods. Wistar rats were injected with CdSe/ZnS or CdTe QDs on the 6th, 13th, and 18th days of embryogenesis. Cyclophosphamide was chosen as a positive control of embryotoxicity. On the 21st day, the number of resorptions, weight, length, and external malformations of the embryos were estimated. Fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy analysis were used to determine the accumulation of QDs in the tissues.
Results. Exposure to cyclophosphamide during the pregnancy decreased the embryonic weight and length when compared with the control group and produced numerous malformations. The effects depended on the stage of embryogenesis. Meanwhile, QDs did not cause any embryotoxic or teratogenic effects. However, CdTe QDs induced necrosis in the tissues of the peritoneal cavity. The necrotic tissues contained QDs with altered spectroscopic properties. Spectroscopic and microscopic tissue examination revealed that QDs accumulated in the placenta, but no penetration to the embryonic tissues was observed.
Conclusions. QDs did not cause any direct embryotoxic or teratogenic effects, but they had adverse effects on the maternal organism. The observed QD effects and the long-term accumulation of QDs in the maternal organism may increase the risk of adverse effects on embryo development.
Materials and Methods. Wistar rats were injected with CdSe/ZnS or CdTe QDs on the 6th, 13th, and 18th days of embryogenesis. Cyclophosphamide was chosen as a positive control of embryotoxicity. On the 21st day, the number of resorptions, weight, length, and external malformations of the embryos were estimated. Fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy analysis were used to determine the accumulation of QDs in the tissues.
Results. Exposure to cyclophosphamide during the pregnancy decreased the embryonic weight and length when compared with the control group and produced numerous malformations. The effects depended on the stage of embryogenesis. Meanwhile, QDs did not cause any embryotoxic or teratogenic effects. However, CdTe QDs induced necrosis in the tissues of the peritoneal cavity. The necrotic tissues contained QDs with altered spectroscopic properties. Spectroscopic and microscopic tissue examination revealed that QDs accumulated in the placenta, but no penetration to the embryonic tissues was observed.
Conclusions. QDs did not cause any direct embryotoxic or teratogenic effects, but they had adverse effects on the maternal organism. The observed QD effects and the long-term accumulation of QDs in the maternal organism may increase the risk of adverse effects on embryo development.
Keywords:
nanoparticles; quantum dots; pregnancy; embryotoxicity; placental barrier
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Žalgevičienė, V.; Kulvietis, V.; Bulotienė, D.; Didžiapetrienė, J.; Rotomskis, R. The Effect of Nanoparticles in Rats During Critical Periods of Pregnancy. Medicina 2012, 48, 37.
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