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The Teratogenicity of Methamphetamine is Influenced by Housing Conditions of Pregnant Mice
Author(s) -
YAMAMOTO Yoshiko,
YAMAMOTO Keiichi
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
congenital anomalies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1741-4520
pISSN - 0914-3505
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4520.1994.tb00803.x
Subject(s) - methamphetamine , pregnancy , medicine , physiology , teratology , fetus , stimulant , biology , genetics
Our previous study suggested that the teratogenic effect of methamphetamine (MAMP) may be influenced by the housing conditions under which drug‐treated pregnant animals were kept (Yamamoto et al., 1992). In the present study, pregnant mice were housed individually and their teratological data were compared with those obtained in the previous study where pregnant females were housed in aggregated groups. Pregnant mice were individually housed in a plastic cage and they received i.p. 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, or 21 mg/kg MAMP hydrochloride on day 8 of pregnancy (plug day = day 0). All the pregnant females treated with MAMP survived to term; this was in contrast to the high mortality rate of the animals which were treated with MAMP and kept in groups. No significant difference in the number of implantations and the resorption rate was noted between the control and treated groups. Malformed fetuses (externally, skeletally or viscerally) were encountered in the MAMP‐treated groups at prevalence rates of 0.6–3.2%, but the rates were not significantly different from the control value. The incidence of malformations was significantly lower in the groups kept in solitary conditions than in aggregated groups examined previously. The present study showed that crowding of pregnant females can potentiate the teratogenic effects of MAMP in mice. Some maternal physiological alterations caused by crowded environment such as stress‐induced glucocorticoid secretion and maternal hyperthermia may be responsible for the potentiated teratogenicity of MAMP in crowded housing conditions.