title: Benzene-induced micronuclei formation in mouse fetal liver blood, peripheral blood, and maternal bone marrow cells.
abstract: The transplacental cytogenetic effects of benzene were studied by using the micronucleus test of polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE) found in both fetal liver and fetal peripheral blood, and were compared with PCE from maternal bone marrow. Timed-pregnant mice received single intraperitoneal doses of benzene (0, 109, 219, 437, or 874 mg/kg bw) on the 14th day of gestation and were sacrificed 21 hr after injection. Benzene elicited a significant increase (P less than 0.01) in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCE) in fetal liver blood cells (0.55 to 1.36%, control 0.18%) at doses of 219 to 874 mg/kg, and in fetal peripheral blood cells (0.49 to 0.58%, control 0.25%) and maternal bone marrow cells (0.53 to 0.70%, control 0.10%) at doses of 437 and 874 mg/kg. The data demonstrate that benzene is a moderate transplacental clastogenic agent, and that the mouse transplacental micronucleus test using fetal liver blood cells is a potentially more sensitive indicator of the genotoxicity of benzene than either fetal peripheral blood or maternal bone marrow cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis 95616.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.forename: N Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Kado
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kuzmicky
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Hsieh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001554:Benzene / Q000633:toxicity*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D051379:Mice; D048629:Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective / Q000187:drug effects*; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D009153:Mutagens; D011247:Pregnancy; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D001554:Benzene