title: Teratogenic effects of five anticancer drugs on Xenopus laevis embryos.
abstract: In recent years, the environmental presence of pharmaceuticals - including anticancer drugs - is an emerging issue. Because of the lack of appropriate critical studies about anticancer drug effects in frogs, the aim of the present study was to investigate lethal and teratogenic effects of five anticancer drugs widely used in large quantities, i.e. 5-flourouracil, capecitabine, cisplatin, etoposide, and imatinib, in the embryos of the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, using FETAX - Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay in Xenopus. None of the studied anticancer drugs induced statistically significant mortality within the concentrations tested (0.01-50mg/L, depending on the studied compound), and no growth inhibition of embryos after a 96-h exposure was observed. Except for cisplatin, the other pharmaceuticals induced an increase of developmental malformations such as abdominal edema, axial flexure, head, eyes, gut and heart malformations with statistically significant effects observed at the highest concentrations tested (50mg/L for 5-flourouracil; 30mg/L for etoposide and 20mg/L for capecitabine and imatinib). The results indicate that anticancer drugs can affect embryogenesis mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy. Electronic address: marina.isidori@unina2.it.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isidori
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piscitelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, RECETOX, Kamenice 5, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smutná
authors.affiliation: Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, RECETOX, Kamenice 5, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Luděk
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bláha
mesh_terms: D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000209:etiology*; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001681:Biological Assay; D000069287:Capecitabine / Q000633:toxicity; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000633:toxicity; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D005047:Etoposide / Q000633:toxicity; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000633:toxicity; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate / Q000633:toxicity; D013723:Teratogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D013723:Teratogens; D000069287:Capecitabine; D005047:Etoposide; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D002945:Cisplatin; D005472:Fluorouracil
keywords: Anticancer drugs; FETAX; Teratogenicity; Xenopus laevis