title: Apoptosis in tracheoesophageal embryogenesis in rat embryos with or without adriamycin treatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether apoptosis participates in separation of the foregut into trachea and esophagus and to evaluate the potential role of apoptosis in the development of esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula (EA + TEF) induced by Adriamycin.
  
  
  METHODS
  Timed-pregnant rats were injected daily with either saline or Adriamycin (2 mg/kg) intraperitoneally on days 6 to 9 of gestation. Paraffin sections were prepared from 31 experimental and 31 control embryos at days 12 and 13 of gestation. Condensed nuclei were identified on the paraffin sections using the TUNEL method. Apoptosis was quantified by counting the positively stained cell nuclei in transverse sections of embryos.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In day 12 control embryos the number of apoptotic nuclei in both lateral ridges of the foregut was high (15.67 +/- 1.38) but relatively low (4.17 +/- 0.80) in Adriamycin-treated embryos (P< .0001). In day 13 Adriamycin-treated embryos, the number of apoptotic nuclei in the region of the upper esophageal pouch was extremely high (23.78.5 +/- 2.20) compared with no detectable apoptotic nuclei in the control embryos.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Apoptosis is required for normal tracheoesophageal embryogenesis and may be an important mechanism to be involved in the embryological development of esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula.
authors.affiliation: F. Douglas Stephens Surgical Research Laboratory, Royal Children's Hospital Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hutson
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Farmer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hasthorpe
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000009:adverse effects; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D004933:Esophageal Atresia / Q000139:chemically induced; D004947:Esophagus / Q000196:embryology*; D005260:Female; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014132:Trachea / Q000196:embryology*; D014138:Tracheoesophageal Fistula / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D004317:Doxorubicin