title: Effects of uranium poisoning on cultured preimplantation embryos.
abstract: The toxic effect of uranium in cultured preimplantation embryos of the mouse is presented. Embryos were obtained from hybrid females CBA x C57 BL following induction of superovulation and were incubated in M16 cultured medium. Two different experiments were performed. In one, embryos in a one-cell stage were placed in culture media with final concentrations of uranyl nitrate of 104 and 208 microg/mL during 120 h in the same dish. In the other experiment, embryos in a one-cell stage were placed in culture medium with uranyl nitrate with final U concentrations of 26, 52, 104, and 208 microg/mL. At 24 h, those embryos which had reached the two-cell stage were transferred to another culture dish to which fresh solutions with uranyl nitrate were added. The percentage of embryos in two-cell stage, morula, early blastocyst, expanded blastocyst, and hatched blastocyst were recorded at 24, 72, 96 and 120 h of culture. The results obtained showed that concentrations as from 26 microg U/mL induced the delay of embryo development and the impairment of blastomere proliferation. The toxic effect of uranium increased in those experiments in which the embryos were transferred to a new medium. This embryo-culture system appears to be appropriate to evaluate the toxic effect of uranium on embryos removed from maternal influences and represents a suitable test system for environmental pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiobiology, National Atomic Energy Commission, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kundt
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ubios
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Cabrini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000187:drug effects*; D003470:Culture Media; D046508:Culture Techniques; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D014501:Uranium / Q000506:poisoning*; D014502:Uranyl Nitrate / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D014502:Uranyl Nitrate; D014501:Uranium