Joshi N, Rhoades MG, Bennett GD, Wells SM, Mirvish SS, Breitbach MJ, Shea PJ. Developmental abnormalities in chicken embryos exposed to N-nitrosoatrazine.
J Toxicol Environ Health A 2013;
76:1015-1022. [PMID:
24168037 DOI:
10.1080/15287394.2013.831721]
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Abstract
Nitrate and atrazine (ATR) occur in combination in some drinking-water supplies and might react to form N-nitrosoatrazine (NNAT), which is reportedly more toxic than nitrate, nitrite, or ATR. Current evidence from population-based studies indicates that exposure to nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosatable compounds increases the risk of congenital defects and/or rate of embryo lethality. To test the hypothesis that NNAT induces malformations during embryogenesis, chicken embryos were examined for lethality and developmental abnormalities after treating fertilized eggs with 0.06-3.63 μg NNAT. After 5 d of incubation (Hamburger and Hamilton stage 27), 90% of embryos in NNAT-treated eggs were alive, of which 23% were malformed. Malformations included heart and neural-tube defects, caudal regression, gastroschisis, microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and craniofacial hypoplasia. The findings from this investigation suggest further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying NNAT-induced embryotoxicity.
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