title: Study of the Effects of Diazinon on Fetal Liver in BALB/c Mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diazinon is an organophosphate that is broadly used as a pesticide to control insects and environmental pollutions. This toxic material is absorbed via inhalation, contact, or digestion and affects different tissues.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This research was a histomorphometric and immunohistochemical study of the fetal liver of mice after exposure to Diazinon.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five pregnant BALB/c mice (25 - 30 gr) were divided into five equal groups in the animal lab of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The normal group was without any intervention, and two sham groups received an emulsifier as 0.52 and 5.2 μL/volume (5000 cc in desiccator) and two experimental groups received Diazinon 1.3 and 13μL/volume from the seventh to eighteenth days of pregnancy every other day via forty minutes of inhalation. The pregnant mice were killed on the eighteenth day of gestation and their fetuses were removed and evaluated for fetal growth and liver development. Five fixed fetuses were dehydrated through a series of graded ethanol, embedded in paraffin wax and their whole bodies were sectioned sagittally and stained via the hematoxylin-eosin method. Quantitative computer-assisted morphometric studies were done on the fetal liver tissues occupied by hepatocytes, blood islands, liver sinusoids, and apoptosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean crown-rump of the fetuses and their mean weight were increased in the experimental group as compared to the sham and normal groups, but the differences were not significant. The mean percentage of the hepatocyte area significantly increased in the experimental group as compared to the sham and control groups (P < 0.0001). However, the mean sinusoid area significantly decreased in the experimental group as compared to the sham and control groups. The mean percentage of the area occupied by apoptotic hepatocytes in the experimental group - 13 μL /volume (8.6143 ± 1.00945) and 1.3 μL /volume (6.1091 ± 0.93093) - significantly increased as compared to the normal and sham groups (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data showed that inhalation of Diazinon during pregnancy increased the hepatocyte area and hepatocyte apoptosis while it decreased the sinusoid area of the fetal liver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saraei
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrangiz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadoughi
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Homayoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Sadraie
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foaddodini
keywords: Apoptosis; Diazinon; Fetal Liver; Histomorphology