title: New Zealand white rabbit progeny exposed in utero to methanol are resistant to skeletal anomalies reported for rodents, but exhibit a novel vertebral defect.
abstract: Rabbits may serve as a useful model for predicting the human risk for methanol (MeOH) teratogenicity, which currently is unknown. New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits are resistant to the MeOH-initiated gross morphological anomalies characteristically observed in several strains of mice and rats, but skeletal development has not been assessed. Pregnant rabbits were administered 2 doses of 2g/kg MeOH on gestational day (GD) 7 or 8, and assessed for skeletal abnormalities on GD 29. Variations between treated and control fetuses were observed only in the number of post-lumbar vertebrae, where MeOH-exposed fetuses had fewer ossified vertebrae, which has not been reported for rodents. Furthermore, rabbits did not exhibit the MeOH-initiated skeletal defects characteristically reported for rodent fetuses. These results expand the morphological breadth of the relative species-dependent resistance of rabbits to MeOH teratogenicity compared to rodents, yet reveal a novel skeletal defect or delay in ossification not reported for rodents.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: J Nicole
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Sweeting
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada. Electronic address: pg.wells@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Wells
mesh_terms: D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D000432:Methanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013045:Species Specificity; D013131:Spine / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013723:Teratogens / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D013723:Teratogens; D000432:Methanol
keywords: Methanol (MeOH); New Zealand white (NZW) rabbit; Skeletal development; Teratology