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Congenital Hydrocephalus Induced in Rats by Prenatal Administration of Ethylenethiourea
Author(s) -
TAKEUCHI Ikuo K.,
TAKEUCHI Yoshiko K.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
congenital anomalies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1741-4520
pISSN - 0914-3505
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4520.1990.tb00502.x
Subject(s) - hydrocephalus , ventricle , ependymal cell , third ventricle , cerebral ventricle , medicine , fetus , lateral ventricles , anatomy , gestational age , offspring , pregnancy , surgery , central nervous system , biology , genetics
Pregnant Wistar rats were given a single i.p. injection of 30 mg/kg ethylenethiourea (ETU) on one of gestational days 8.5 to 20.5. After rearing to postnatal day 20, the offspring were sacrificed and their brains were excised. Numerous brains removed from the pups prenatally treated with ETU on any day from gestational days 12.5 to 20.5 showed dilatation of lateral ventricle in various degrees. Histological examination revealed forking and stenosis of third ventricle in these brains. Since the degree of the third‐ventricular stenosis roughly corresponded to the degree of dilatation of lateral ventricle, this anomaly is considered to be the main cause of congenital hydrocephalus induced in rats by prenatal ETU‐treatment. The embryological study showed that the ependymal lining of the third ventricle was partially denuded in the fetuses 24–48 hours after ETU‐treatment, and also that the denuded ependymal lining was never repaired during the following gestational days; instead, the ventricular walls fused laterally in the area where the ependymal lining had been denuded.