Exposure of developing chicks to perfluorooctanoic acid induces defects in prehatch and early posthatch development.
There is increasing concern over the widespread use of perfluorinated chemicals, which accumulate in various tissues and penetrate the mammalian fetus. A chick model was established for the rapid evaluation of teratogenicity of these chemicals, an important issue because developmental defects often occur at lower exposures than those required for adult systemic toxicity. Chicken eggs were injected with varying doses of perfluorooctanoic acid prior to incubation. Observed were defects in hatching, increased incidence of splayed legs, and interference with the appropriate development of yellow plumage. All these defects are potentially related to essential molecular/biochemical and functional development of the chick. Because of the relationship between structural defects and vulnerability of the developing brain, our model points to the need to evaluate neurobehavioral teratogenicity, which may involve even lower doses.
Yanai
Joseph
J
The Ross Laboratory for Studies in Neural Birth Defects, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. yanai@md.huji.ac.il
Dotan
Sharon
S
Goz
Roman
R
Pinkas
Adi
A
Seidler
Frederic J
FJ
Slotkin
Theodore A
TA
Zimmerman
Frederic
F
D000818:Animals; D002210:Caprylates / Q000633:toxicity*; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000187:drug effects*; D002645:Chickens / Q000002:abnormalities; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000002:abnormalities*; D023421:Models, Animal; D010858:Pigmentation / Q000187:drug effects*; D013723:Teratogens / Q000633:toxicity*
D002210:Caprylates; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D013723:Teratogens; C023036:perfluorooctanoic acid