title: Developmental and behavioral effects of acrylamide in Fischer 344 rats.
abstract: Human exposures to acrylamide (ACR), a known neurotoxicant, can occur via a variety of substances, including cigarette smoke and the ingestion of certain carbohydrate-based foods cooked at high temperatures. In this study, Fischer 344 sperm plug-positive female rats were treated daily with ACR (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg/day) by gavage beginning on gestation day 7. Dosing of dams ended when litters were born; pups received daily gavage at the same dose as their dam from postnatal day (PND) 1 through PND22. Pups were tested using a battery of behavioral assessments from PNDs 4-22. Statistically significant decreases in body weight were observed in pups exposed to ACR at doses as low as 1.0 mg/kg/day (treatmentxday; repeated measures ANOVA, P<0.0001). No statistically significant differences among treatment groups were observed in righting reflex, forelimb hang, or open field measures of activity. Statistically significant effects of ACR were observed at the 10 mg/kg/day dose on negative geotaxis performance (P<0.01) and a linear trend in fall-time latencies on Rotarod performance on PNDs 21-22 (P<0.05), with higher doses producing shorter latencies. These results suggest that ACR exposure produces deficits in development and motor coordination that are observable before weaning.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurotoxicology, HFT-132, National Center for Toxicological Research, 3900 NCTR Rd., Jefferson, AR 72079-9502, USA. bmotz@cogsci.ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garey
authors.forename: Sherry A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Merle G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Paule
mesh_terms: D020106:Acrylamide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001723:Birth Rate; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D018466:Gravity Sensing / Q000187:drug effects; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D009068:Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects; D012737:Sex Factors; D013028:Space Perception / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D020106:Acrylamide