Pathogenesis of methanol-induced craniofacial defects in C57BL/6J mice

The wound healing effect of aqueous extract from Piper amalago L. in diabetic patient

Diabetes patients present a complex healing process due to several factors directly linked to their pathology. The use of medicinal plants that aid in tissue repair can bring great benefits to such individuals. This case report describes how the topical application of the aqueous extract produced from the leaves of Piper amalago L. was used to aid the healing of a lacerated wound in the left thumb of a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aqueous extract of the leaves of Piper amalago L. was prepared in boiling water. During the boiling process the dried leaves were submerged in the boiling water and left for five min. The injured thumb was submerged in the solution and the leaves were placed on the injury. The action of the aqueous extract obtained from the leaves of P. amalago was shown to be promising in the healing of a wound in a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The topical application of the aqueous extract produced from the leaves of P. amalago assisted in the healing of a lacerated wound in the left thumb of a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus over a period of 15 days.

Prenatal exposure to methanol as a dopamine system sensitization model in C57BL/6J mice

AIMS

In this study, the effects of prenatal exposure to methanol (MeOH) on the nigrostriatal dopamine (NSDA) system were examined to determine if the interaction could sensitize this system, and serve as an underpinning for Parkinson's disease (PD) like changes that occur later in life. Methanol was studied because its toxicity resembles the symptoms of PD and the symptoms are relieved by L-dopa meaning that MeOH targets the NSDA system. Since fermentation and wood combustion are major sources for MeOH, the incidence of human encounters with MeOH is high. As a superior solvent and the precursor for formaldehyde, MeOH has a powerful and sometimes, irreversible impact on chemical processes, such as cross-linking proteins and nucleic acids. It may cause subthreshold changes that sensitizes the NSDA system to PD, that occur during aging.

MAIN METHODS

To study the prenatal effects of MeOH, pregnant C57BL/6J mice were administered 40 mg/kg MeOH by oral gavage during gestation days 8-12, twice daily. Twelve weeks after birth, behavior impairments were recorded. The striatum was dissected for the determination of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), L-aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (LAAD), α-synuclein and levels of dopamine (DA) and its metabolites.

KEY FINDINGS

MeOH reduced striatal TH and LAAD protein by 47% and 57% respectively and DA by 32%.

SIGNIFICANCE

The results mean that in utero exposure to toxins similar to MeOH could sensitize the striatal system to changes that cause PD. This study may help identify strategies to block this type of in utero toxicity.

Alcohol-induced facial dysmorphology in C57BL/6 mouse models of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which includes a range of developmental deficits. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most severe form of FASD and can be diagnosed with pathognomonic facial features such as a smooth philtrum, short palpebral fissure, and thin upper vermilion. However, many children with developmental damage because of prenatal alcohol exposure exhibit none, or only a subset, of the above features, making diagnosis difficult. This study explored novel analyses to quantify the effect of a known dose of alcohol on specific facial measurements in substrains C57BL/B6J (B6J) and C57BL/6NHsd (B6N) mice. Mouse dams were provided alcohol (Alc) consisting of 4.8% (vol/vol) alcohol in a liquid diet for 16 days prepregnancy and chow and water diet during mating, and then the alcohol liquid diet was reinstated on gestational days 7 (E7) to gestational day 17 (E17). Treatment controls included a pair-fed (PF) group given matched volumes of an alcohol-free liquid diet made isocalorically and a group given ad lib access to lab chow and water (Chow). Maternal diet intake (Alc and PF), blood alcohol concentrations (BACs), embryo weights, and 15 morphometric facial measurements for E17 embryos were analyzed. B6N dams drank more alcohol during pregnancy and generated higher BAC than B6J dams. Both the Alc and PF treatments induced significant reductions in embryo weights relative to Chow in both substrains. Alcohol treatments produced significant changes, relative to controls, in 4 of the 15 facial measures for the B6N substrain but only in two measures for the B6J substrain. Discriminant analysis demonstrated successful classification of the alcohol-exposed versus nonalcohol-exposed B6N embryos, with a high sensitivity of 86%, specificity 80%, and overall classification (total correct 83%), whereas B6J mice yielded sensitivity of 80%, specificity 78%, and overall correct classification in 79%. In addition, B6N mice showed significantly more effects of pair feeding on these facial measures than did B6J mice, suggesting that the B6N substrain may be more vulnerable to nutritional stress during pregnancy. Overall, these data indicate that both B6N and B6J mice were vulnerable to alcohol but show differences in the severity and location of alcohol-induced dysmorphic facial features and may parallel findings from human studies comparing different ethnic groups. Furthermore, these findings suggest that discriminant analysis may be useful in predicting alcohol exposure in either mouse substrains.

Methanol exposure during gastrulation causes holoprosencephaly, facial dysgenesis, and cervical vertebral malformations in C57BL/6J mice

BACKGROUND

Exposure of pregnant outbred CD-1 mice to methanol during the period of gastrulation results in exencephaly, cleft palate, and cervical vertebra malformations [Rogers and Mole, Teratology 55: 364, 1997], while inbred C57BL/6J mice are sensitive to the teratogenicity of ethanol. C57BL/6J fetuses exhibit the holoprosencephaly spectrum of malformations after maternal exposure to ethanol during gastrulation, but the sensitivity of C57BL/6J mice to methanol-induced teratogenesis has not been previously described.

METHODS

Pregnant C57BL/6J mice were administered two i.p. injections totaling 3.4 or 4.9 g/kg methanol or distilled water four hrs apart on gestation day 'GD' 7. On GD 17, litters were examined for numbers of live, dead and resorbed conceptuses, fetuses were weighed as a litter and examined externally, and all fetuses were double stained for skeletal analysis.

RESULTS

No maternal intoxication was apparent, but the high dosage level caused a transient deficit in maternal weight gain. The number of live fetuses per litter was reduced at both dosages of methanol, and fetal weight was lower in the high dosage group. Craniofacial defects were observed in 55.8% of fetuses in the low dosage group and 91.0% of fetuses in the high dosage group, including micro/anophthalmia, holoprosencephaly, facial clefts and gross facial angenesis. Skeletal malformations, particularly of the cervical vertebrae, were observed at both dosages of methanol, and were similar to those previously reported in the CD-1 mouse following methanol exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

The types of craniofacial malformations induced in the C57BL/6J mouse by methanol indicate that methanol and ethanol have common targets and may have common modes of action.