Inbred BALB/c mice are genetically the same, yet less than half of adults show absent or small corpus callosum. Is this because only a minority has prenatal defects of the sling at the telencephalic midline, or do most fetuses have a defective sling but some are able to form a corpus callosum via some other substrate pathway? This question was addressed by comparing large samples of BALB/c fetu...

We used Hoxa3 knockout mice and other mouse models to study the role of the fetal parathyroids in fetal calcium homeostasis. Hoxa3-null fetuses lack parathyroid glands, and absence of parathyroid hormone (PTH) was confirmed with a rodent PTH immunoradiometric assay. The ionized calcium level of Hoxa3-null fetuses was significantly lower than that of wild-type or heterozygous littermates or of t...

Mutant curly-tail mice are genetically predisposed to produce offspring with neural tube defects. Estimation of alpha-fetoprotein in the amniotic fluid of fetuses of these mutants has shown that the levels are raised in fetuses with exencephaly and open spina bifida. This suggests that these mice are a valid model for studies of the aetiology and genesis of neural tube defects in man.

BACKGROUND Many cancer patients receive radiotherapy which may lead to serious damages to the ovary storage and the matrix muscle state. Some of these patients may admit to infertility clinics for having pregnancy and on the other hand hormonal administration for superovulation induction is a routine procedure in assisted reproduction technology (ART) clinics. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to in...

Introduction: Chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphate insecticide, was evaluated for potential teratogenic effects in mice. A single oral dose of insecticide (i.e. 72, 36 18 or 9 mg/kg) was given to the pregnant females on gestation day6 (GD6). These doses correspond 50, 25, 12.5 and 6.25% to the calculated LD50 value (144 mg/kg) for the pregnant mice. No signs of overt toxicity were observed at...

The effect of Mycoplasma pulmonis, strain JB, on the outcome of pregnancy in TO mice was studied. The mice were infected intravenously before or after mating and the fetuses were examined at autopsy just before parturition. An increase in the number of abnormal pregnancies was noted in mice infected about 2 weeks before mating, and there was a significant increase in the number of fetuses which...

Objective(s) Quinazolinones are heterocyclic compounds, with biological and pharmacological activities, such as inhibiting some proteins, enzymes and reducing blood lipids. Materials and Methods Following previous results of our group, effects of two new derivatives of quinazolinones 9(3)-quinazolinone-2-propyl-2-phenylethyl (QPPE) and 9(3)-quinazolinone-2-ethyl-2-phenylethyl (QEPE) on liver...

Sulfur Mustard (SM) has been used as a chemical warfare agent, in the World War I and more recently during Iraq-Iran war in early 1980s’. Its biological poisoning effect could be local or systemic and its effect depends on environmental conditions, exposed organs, and the extent and duration of exposure. It is considered as a strong alkylating agent with known mutagenic, carcinogenic effects; a...

F1 hybrid New Zealand Black (NZB) x New Zealand White (NZM) (NZB/NZW) mice spontaneously develop an autoimmune disease analogous to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Testosterone experts a powerful suppressive effect on this disorder in adult NZB/NZW mice. A series of experiments was designed to determine if disease would also be suppressed by exposing fetal NZB/NZW mice to increased testoste...