title: Growth of rat embryos in the serum of alcohol drinkers.
abstract: Seven healthy male volunteers who had fasted overnight consumed Scotch whisky (70-85 g absolute alcohol) in a period of 15 minutes after venesection at 9.30 a.m. An hour later a further quantity of blood was collected. Rat embryos (9.5 days of gestation) grown for four hours in 'post-drink' serum (115 mg alcohol/100 ml serum) followed by 44 hours in 'pre-drink' serum were compared to controls cultured in normal human serum for 48 hours. All cultures contained 90% human serum and 10% rat serum. The embryos were examined morphologically and their protein content was measured to assess in vitro growth and differentiation. The results demonstrated the teratogenic and growth-retarding effects of alcohol ingestion. Addition of ethanol (120 mg/100 ml) to the culture medium produced similar results. Culture of 9.5-day rat embryos for 24 hours in 'post-drink' serum (115 mg/100 ml alcohol) containing 10 or 20 micrograms acetaldehyde/ml or in pre-drink serum containing similar amounts of acetaldehyde showed a toxic effect of acetaldehyde only at concentrations of 20 micrograms/ml, in the absence of alcohol.
mesh_terms: D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000196:embryology; D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000139:chemically induced; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D000079:Acetaldehyde