Effect of prenatal exposure to ethanol on development of the thymus.
The effect of maternal alcohol consumption on development of the fetal thymus was studied in C57BL/6 mice. Female mice were fed a complete liquid diet containing 25% ethanol-derived calories (or a control diet) both before and during pregnancy. Significantly reduced fetal weight (a characteristic feature of fetal alcohol syndrome) was noted in 18- and 19-day-old fetuses of alcohol-fed mice. The thymuses of fetal mice exposed prenatally to ethanol were reduced both in cell number and proliferative response to Concanavalin A plus a source of interleukin 2.
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011247:Pregnancy; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
D007376:Interleukin-2; D000431:Ethanol