β-Adrenergic Inhibition Prevents Action Potential and Calcium Handling Changes during Regional Myocardial Ischemia

β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) blockers may be administered during acute myocardial infarction (MI), as they reduce energy demand through negative chronotropic and inotropic effects and prevent ischemia-induced arrhythmogenesis. However, the direct effects of β-AR blockers on ventricular electrophysiology and intracellular Ca²⁺ handling during ischemia remain unknown. Using optical mapping of transmembrane potential (with RH237) and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca²⁺ (with the low-affinity indicator Fluo-5N AM), the effects of 15 min of regional ischemia were assessed in isolated rabbit hearts (n = 19). The impact of β-AR inhibition on isolated hearts was assessed by pre-treatment with 100 nM propranolol (Prop) prior to ischemia (n = 7). To control for chronotropy and inotropy, hearts were continuously paced at 3.3 Hz and contraction was inhibited with 20 μM blebbistatin. Untreated ischemic hearts displayed prototypical shortening of action potential duration (APD₈₀) in the ischemic zone (IZ) compared to the non-ischemic zone (NI) at 10 and 15 min ischemia, whereas APD shortening was prevented with Prop. Untreated ischemic hearts also displayed significant changes in SR Ca²⁺ handling in the IZ, including prolongation of SR Ca²⁺ reuptake and SR Ca²⁺ alternans, which were prevented with Prop pre-treatment. At 5 min ischemia, Prop pre-treated hearts also showed larger SR Ca²⁺ release amplitude in the IZ compared to untreated hearts. These results suggest that even when controlling for chronotropic and inotropic effects, β-AR inhibition has a favorable effect during acute regional ischemia via direct effects on APD and Ca²⁺ handling.

Ozone-induced airway epithelial cell death, the neurokinin-1 receptor pathway, and the postnatal developing lung

Children are uniquely susceptible to ozone because airway and lung growth continue for an extensive period after birth. Early-life exposure of the rhesus monkey to repeated ozone cycles results in region-specific disrupted airway/lung growth, but the mediators and mechanisms are poorly understood. Substance P (SP), neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R); and nuclear receptor Nur77 (NR4A1) are signaling pathway components involved in ozone-induced cell death. We hypothesize that acute ozone (AO) exposure during postnatal airway development disrupts SP/NK-1R/Nur77 pathway expression and that these changes correlate with increased ozone-induced cell death. Our objectives were to 1) spatially define the normal development of the SP/NK-1R/Nur77 pathway in conducting airways; 2) compare how postnatal age modulates responses to AO exposure; and 3) determine how concomitant, episodic ozone exposure modifies age-specific acute responses. Male infant rhesus monkeys were assigned at age 1 mo to two age groups, 2 or 6 mo, and then to one of three exposure subgroups: filtered air (FA), FA+AO (AO: 8 h/day × 2 days), or episodic biweekly ozone exposure cycles (EAO: 8 h/day × 5 days/14-day cycle+AO). O3 = 0.5 ppm. We found that 1) ozone increases SP/NK-1R/Nur77 pathway expression in conducting airways, 2) an ozone exposure cycle (5 days/cycle) delivered early at age 2 mo resulted in an airway that was hypersensitive to AO exposure at the end of 2 mo, and 3) continued episodic exposure (11 cycles) resulted in an airway that was hyposensitive to AO exposure at 6 mo. These observations collectively associate with greater overall inflammation and epithelial cell death, particularly in early postnatal (2 mo), distal airways.

Fetal exposure of rhesus macaques to bisphenol a alters cellular development of the conducting airway by changing epithelial secretory product expression

BACKGROUND

Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure early in life results in organizational changes in reproductive organs, but the effect of BPA on conducting airway cellular maturation has not been studied. Late gestation is characterized by active differentiation of secretory cells in the lung epithelium.

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated the hypothesis that BPA exposure disrupts epithelial secretory cell development in the fetal conducting airway of the rhesus macaque.

METHODS

We exposed animals to BPA during either the second (early term) or the third (late term) trimester. There were four treatment groups: a) sham control early term, b) sham control late term, c) BPA early term (BPA-early), and d) BPA late term (BPA-late). Because cellular maturation occurs nonuniformly in the lung, we defined mRNA and protein expression by airway level using microdissection.

RESULTS

BPA exposure of the dam during late term significantly accelerated secretory cell maturation in the proximal airways of the fetus; both Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP) and MUC5AC/5B mRNA and protein expression increased.

CONCLUSIONS

BPA exposure during late gestation accelerates secretory cell maturation in the proximal conducting airways. We identified a critical window of fetal susceptibility for BPA effects on lung epithelial cell maturation in the third trimester. This is of environmental health importance because increases in airway mucins are hallmarks of a number of childhood lung diseases that may be affected by BPA exposure.

Ozone exposure alters serotonin and serotonin receptor expression in the developing lung

Ozone, a pervasive environmental pollutant, adversely affects functional lung growth in children. Animal studies demonstrate that altered lung development is associated with modified signaling within the airway epithelial mesenchymal trophic unit, including mediators that can change nerve growth. We hypothesized that ozone exposure alters the normal pattern of serotonin, its transporter (5-HTT), and two key receptors (5-HT2A and 5-HT4), a pathway involved in postnatal airway neural, epithelial, and immune processes. We exposed monkeys to acute or episodic ozone during the first 2 or 6 months of life. There were three exposure groups/age: (1) filtered air, (2) acute ozone challenge, and (3) episodic ozone + acute ozone challenge. Lungs were prepared for compartment-specific qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and stereology. Airway epithelial serotonin immunopositive staining increased in all exposure groups with the most prominent in 2-month midlevel and 6-month distal airways. Gene expression of 5-HTT, 5-HT2AR, and 5-HT4R increased in an age-dependent manner. Overall expression was greater in distal compared with midlevel airways. Ozone exposure disrupted both 5-HT2AR and 5-HT4R protein expression in airways and enhanced immunopositive staining for 5-HT2AR (2 months) and 5-HT4R (6 months) on smooth muscle. Ozone exposure increases serotonin in airway epithelium regardless of airway level, age, and exposure history and changes the spatial pattern of serotonin receptor protein (5-HT2A and 5-HT4) and 5-HTT gene expression depending on compartment, age, and exposure history. Understanding how serotonin modulates components of reversible airway obstruction exacerbated by ozone exposure sets the foundation for developing clinically relevant therapies for airway disease.

Postnatal exposure history and airways: oxidant stress responses in airway explants

Postnatally, the lung continues to grow and differentiate while interacting with the environment. Exposure to ozone (O(3)) and allergens during postnatal lung development alters structural elements of conducting airways, including innervation and neurokinin abundance. These changes have been linked with development of asthma in a rhesus monkey model. We hypothesized that O(3) exposure resets the ability of the airways to respond to oxidant stress and that this is mediated by changes in the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R). Infant rhesus monkeys received episodic exposure to O(3) biweekly with or without house dust mite antigen (HDMA) from 6 to 12 months of age. Age-matched monkeys were exposed to filtered air (FA). Microdissected airway explants from midlevel airways (intrapulmonary generations 5-8) for four to six animals in each of four groups (FA, O(3), HDMA, and HDMA+O(3)) were tested for NK-1R gene responses to acute oxidant stress using exposure to hydrogen peroxide (1.2 mM), a lipid ozonide (10 μM), or sham treatment for 4 hours in vitro. Airway responses were measured using real-time quantitative RT-PCR of NK-1R and IL-8 gene expression. Basal NK-1R gene expression levels were not different between the exposure groups. Treatment with ozonide or hydrogen peroxide did not change NK-1R gene expression in animals exposed to FA, HDMA, or HDMA+O(3). However, treatment in vitro with lipid ozonide significantly increased NK-1R gene expression in explants from O(3)-exposed animals. We conclude that a history of prior O(3) exposure resets the steady state of the airways to increase the NK-1R response to subsequent acute oxidant stresses.

Postnatal lung development of rhesus monkey airways: cellular expression of Clara cell secretory protein

Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP) is a protective lung protein that is believed to have antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anticarcinogenic properties. Evidence suggests that CCSP is involved in mitigating many lung disease states during development including asthma. This study's rationale is to define the distribution and abundance of CCSP in the airway epithelium of the rhesus monkey during postnatal lung development using carefully controlled site-specific morphometric approaches in defined airway regions. Immunoreactive CCSP was found in nonciliated cells and mucous cells, including glands, throughout the airway epithelium at all ages, with proximal and mid-level airways having the highest labeling. Overall airway CCSP levels were low at 1 week and 1 month, doubled between 1 and 3 months, and changed little from 3 months to 3 years. Thus, the critical developmental window for CCSP expression to reach adult levels in the rhesus conducting airways occurs between 1 and 3 months of age.

Two-generation reproduction and developmental neurotoxicity study with sodium chlorite in the rat

The potential for sodium chlorite to produce reproductive toxicity, developmental neurotoxicity and alterations in hematology and thyroid hormones was evaluated in Sprague-Dawley rats administered sodium chlorite in the drinking water continuously for two generations. The F(0) generation animals (30 of each gender per group) and F(1) generation animals (25 of each gender per group) selected to rear the F(2) generation were allowed free access to drinking water containing 0, 35, 70 or 300 ppm sodium chlorite for a 10-week prebreed period, through mating for males and through mating, gestation and lactation for females. These drinking water concentrations corresponded to sodium chlorite doses of approximately 4, 8 and 30 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for males and 5, 10 and 39 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for females, respectively. Evaluations included standard reproductive and postnatal indices, sperm morphology and motility, estrous cyclicity, a functional observational battery, motor activity, auditory startle, swim maze, hematology, serum thyroid hormone analyses and histopathology of reproductive and nervous system tissues. Sodium chlorite resulted in a decrease in water consumption in all groups and a decrease in food consumption and body weights in the 70 and 300 ppm groups. There was no evidence of reproductive toxicity. Pup body weight was decreased in the 300 ppm group and small delays were observed in the time to preputial separation and vaginal opening. Mild anemia and mild methemoglobinemia were observed for animals in the 300 ppm group. Thyroid hormone levels were not affected by treatment. Changes to the nervous system were limited to small decreases in amplitude of auditory startle response for postnatal day (PND) 25 pups in the 70 and 300 ppm groups and a small decrease in absolute brain weight for PND 11 pups in the 300 ppm group. These effects were considered to be of questionable neurotoxicological significance. Based on the results of this study, the no-observed-effect level (NOEL) for effects on reproduction and thyroid hormones is 300 ppm. The no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAEL) for hematological toxicity and neurotoxicity are considered to be 70 and 300 ppm, respectively.

Determination of selected fate and aquatic toxicity characteristics of acrylic acid and a series of acrylic esters

Acrylic acid, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and butyl acrylate are commercially important and widely used materials. This paper reports the results of a series of fate and aquatic toxicity studies. The mobility in soil of acrylic acid and its esters ranged from 'medium' to 'very high'. Calculated bioconcentration factors ranged from 1 to 37, suggesting a low bioconcentration potential. Acrylic acid and methyl acrylate showed limited biodegradability in the five day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) test, while ethyl acrylate and butyl acrylate were degraded easily (77% and 56%, respectively). Using the OECD method 301D 28-d closed bottle test, degradability for acrylic acid was 81% at 28 days, while the acrylic esters ranged from 57% to 60%. Acrylic acid degraded rapidly to carbon dioxide in soil (t1/2 < 1 day). Toxicity tests were conducted using freshwater and marine fish, invertebrates, and algae. Acrylic acid effect concentrations for fish and invertebrates ranged from 27 to 236 mg/l. Effect concentrations (LC50 or EC50) for fish and invertebrates using methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and butyl acrylate ranged from 1.1 to 8.2 mg/l. The chronic MATC for acrylic acid with Daphnia magna was 27 mg/l based on length and young produced per adult reproduction day and for ethyl acrylate was 0.29 mg/l based on both the reproductive and growth endpoints. Overall these studies show that acrylic acid and the acrylic esters studied can rapidly biodegrade, have a low potential for persistence or bioaccumulation in the environment, and have low to moderate toxicity.

Developmental toxicity study in Sprague-Dawley rats by whole-body exposure to N,N-diethylethanolamine vapor

Timed-pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed whole body to N,N-diethylethanolamine vapor for 6 h per day on gestational days (GD) 6-15 at targeted concentrations of 33, 66 or 100 ppm. Dams were sacrificed on GD 21. There was no maternal mortality in any exposed groups. Maternal toxicity observed in the 100 ppm group included dry rales, reduced body weight (9.5%) on GD 15 and reduced weight gain (48%) during exposure. Suppression of body weight gain was also noted in the 66 ppm group during GD 12-15. There were no effects of treatment on gestational parameters, including pre- and post-implantation loss or sex ratio. Mean fetal body weights in treated groups were comparable to controls. There was no increase in the incidence of total malformations (external, visceral or skeletal) or individually by category. The incidence of a single developmental variation (hypoplastic bones of the forepaw) in the 100 ppm groups was statistically significantly decreased relative to that of controls. The no-observed-adverse-effect level was 33 ppm for maternal toxicity but greater than 100 ppm for embryofetal toxicity and teratogenicity.

Acrylic acid: two-generation reproduction toxicity study in Wistar rats with continuous administration in the drinking water

In a two-generation reproduction toxicity study, groups of 25 male and 25 female Wistar rats (for both F0 and F1 generations) received acrylic acid (AA) in the drinking water at concentrations of 0 (control), 500, 2500 and 5000 ppm for at least 70 days prior to mating, through mating, gestation, lactation and to weaning. The study continued through to weaning of the F2 offspring at 21 days of age. Achieved intakes of AA for the F0 and F1 parents during premating ranged from 46 (500 ppm) to 502 (5000 ppm) mg/kg/day. AA had no adverse effects on fertility and reproductive performance of the parent rats at doses up to 5000 ppm. General systemic toxicity was apparent with reduced body weights, food and water consumption in F0 parents at 5000 ppm and in F1 parents at 2500 and 5000 ppm; the only treatment-related pathological finding was a minimal hyperkeratosis of the limiting ridge of the forestomach with a minimal oedema of the submucosa of the glandular stomach in both parental generations at 5000 ppm. Dose-related signs of developmental toxicity were detected in F1 and F2 pups at 2500 and 5000 ppm in the form of retarded growth and some delay in the eye/auditory canal opening in F2 pups, but there was no evidence that AA had an adverse influence on pup morphology. Thus, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) is 5000 ppm for fertility and reproductive performance of the parents, 2500 ppm (F0 parents) or 500 ppm (F1 parents) for general systemic toxicity and 500 ppm for developmental toxicity.

Repeated dose toxicity study (28 days) in rats and mice with N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP)

Twenty-eight day feeding studies were conducted to evaluate the repeated dose toxicity of NMP, a widely used industrial solvent, in Crl:CD BR rats and B6C3F1 mice. Groups of 5 male and 5 female rats each were fed either 0, 2,000, 6,000, 18,000, or 30,000 ppm NMP; similar groups of mice were fed either 0, 500, 2,500, 7,500, or 10,000 ppm. In vivo parameters, hematology and clinical chemistry parameters, and complete pathology evaluations were conducted after approximately 28 days. Decrements in mean body weight gains, reflecting decreases in food consumption and efficiency, were seen in male rats fed 18,000 ppm and in both sexes fed 30,000 ppm. In rats, clinical chemical changes, indicating possible compound-related alterations in lipid, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism, occurred at 18,000 ppm in males and 30,000 ppm in both sexes. No histopathological changes in rats were judged to be directly related to NMP exposure. Hematological (mild to moderate leukopenia) and histopathological alterations (hypocellular bone marrow, testicular degeneration and atrophy, and thymic atrophy) were judged to be secondary to nutritional and body weight effects in male and/or female rats at 30,000 ppm. In mice, cloudy swelling of the epithelia of the distal parts of the renal tubuli was observed in 4 males and 3 females at 10,000 ppm and in 2 male mice at 7,500 ppm. For both rats and mice, abnormal urine coloration was observed (in mice at 2,500 ppm and above, and in rats at 18,000 ppm and above). The discoloration was interpreted as a sign of systemic availability of the test substance, but not as an adverse effect. The NOAEL was 6,000 ppm for male rats and 18,000 ppm for female rats. In mice, the NOAEL was 2,500 ppm based on the kidney histopathology.

Oncogenicity testing of 2-ethylhexanol in Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice

2-Ethylhexanol (2EH) is a weak nongenotoxic hepatic peroxisome proliferator in the rat. It is a high-volume chemical intermediate in the preparation of the plasticizers bis-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA), bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and tris-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP), which are weak hepatocellular tumorigens in female mice. In consequence, the oncogenic potential of 2EH was evaluated in male (M) and female (F) rats and mice (50 animals/sex/group). Oral gavage doses of 2EH in 0.005% aqueous Cremophor EL (polyoxyl-35 castor oil) were given five times a week to rats: 0 (water), 0 (vehicle), 50, 150, and 500 mg/kg for 24 months, and to mice: 0 (water), 0 (vehicle), 50, 200, and 750 mg/kg for 18 months. Statistical comparisons of data were made between vehicle controls and treatment groups. There were no differences of biological significance between data from vehicle and water control groups. In rats, there were no dose-related changes at 50 mg/kg. There was reduced body weight gain at 150 mg/kg (M, 16; F, 12%) and 500 mg/kg (M, 33; F, 31%) and an increased incidence of lethargy and unkemptness. There were dose-related increases in relative liver, stomach, brain, kidney, and testis weights at sacrifice. Female rat mortality was markedly increased at 500 mg/kg. There was marked aspiration-induced bronchopneumonia in rats at 500 mg/kg; hematologic, gross, and microscopic changes, including tumors, were otherwise comparable among all rat groups. In mice at 50 and 200 mg/kg there were no dose-related changes and essentially no time-dependent or time-independent adverse trends in liver tumor incidence at the 5% significance level. At 750 mg/kg mouse body weight gain was reduced (M, 26; F, 24%), and mortality increased (M and F, 30%) versus vehicle controls. At 750 mg/kg there was a slight increase in nonneoplastic focal hyperplasia in the forestomach of mice (M 5/50, F 4/50) versus vehicle controls (M 1/50, F 1/50). There were increases in mouse relative liver (F, 21%) and stomach (M, 13%; F, 19%) weights at 750 mg/kg. There was a 12% incidence of hepatic basophilic foci and an 18% incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas in male mice at 750 mg/kg, not statistically significant compared with either control by Fisher's exact test. There was a 12% incidence of hepatic basophilic foci and a 10% incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas in female mice at 750 mg/kg, statistically significant (p < 0.05) compared with vehicle but not with water controls by Fisher's exact test. There were no metastases. Time-dependent and -independent statistical analyses showed an adverse trend in the incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas in male and female mice, correlated with toxicity (expressed as mortality) at 750 mg/kg. The time-adjusted incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas in male mice (18.8%) was within the historical normal range at the testing facility (0-22%), but that in females (13.1%) lay outside the normal range (0-2%). Under the conditions of these studies 2EH was not oncogenic in rats, but there were weak adverse trends in hepatocellular carcinoma incidence in mice at high dose levels which may have been associated with toxicity. The major effects of chronic dosing were mortality in female rats at 500 mg/kg and in male and female mice at 750 mg/kg, accompanied by reductions in body weight gain in rats at 150 and 500 mg/kg and in mice at 750 mg/kg. Direct comparison of any tumorogenic effects of 2EH given alone to female mice with those due to 2EH formed in vivo from DEHA, DEHP, or TEHP is limited by the high mortality caused by 2ER in female mice at equivalent doses of 2EH. While 2EH may be a contributing factor in the hepatocellular carcinogenesis in female mice associated with the chronic administration of DEHA and DEHP, it is unlikely to be the entire proximate carcinogen.

Prechronic toxicity studies on 2-ethylhexanol in F334 rats and B6C3F1 mice

Data on the subchronic toxicity of 2-ethylhexanol (2EH) were required to establish the dose vehicle and dose levels for oncogenicity studies. In preliminary studies 2EH was given subacutely (11 days) to male and female Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice as an aqueous emulsion by oral gavage (0, 100, 330, 1000, and 1500 mg/kg/day). Clinical observations were made, body weights, food consumption, clinical chemistries, hematologies, and selected organ weights were measured, and gross and micropathologies were performed. Target organs were the central nervous system, liver, forestomach, spleen, thymus, and kidney in rats and the central nervous system, liver, and forestomach in mice. 2EH was then administered by oral gavage to male and female F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice as an aqueous emulsion (0, 25, 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day) for 13 weeks. At 500 mg/kg/day in the rat there was reduced body weight gain (6% male, 7% female), increased relative liver (29% male, 15% female), kidney (16% male, 6% female), stomach (11% male, 16% female), and testes (6%) weights, and moderate gross and microscopic changes in the liver and forestomach. There were no behavioral effects or effects on the spleen or thymus. A no-effect level for target organ effects in the rat was 125 mg of 2EH/kg/day. At 500 mg of 2EH/kg/day in the mouse the only effects were increased relative stomach weights in males (13%) and a low incidence of gross and microscopic findings in the forestomach (male and female) and liver (female). A no-effect level for target organ effects in the mouse was 125 mg of 2EH/kg/day. 2EH was a peroxisome proliferator in the rat but not in the mouse at subchronic dose levels of 500 mg/kg/day. Dose levels in oncogenicity studies were set at 50 mg/kg/day for the absence of treatment-related effects in rats and mice, and 500 and 750 mg/kg/day, respectively, in rats and mice as high doses producing minimal toxicity without altering the life span.

Comparison of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) dermal response in three strains of mice following repeated exposure to acrylic acid

The dermal response of three strains of mice (ICR, C3H and B6C3F1) exposed to repeated doses of 0, 1 or 4% acrylic acid was examined over 13 wk. Microscopic and gross changes to the skin were classified as being indicative of exceeding the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), reaching the MTD, or tolerating the dose based on proposed MTD guidelines established in US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Workshops on dermal carcinogenesis bioassays. A significant number of animals in all three strains with repeated exposure to 4% acrylic acid experienced skin irritation that was classified as having reached or exceeded the MTD compared with animals exposed to either 1% acrylic acid or the 0% acrylic acid acetone control. These results were observed within the first 3 wk of exposure, but there was some accommodation to irritation by 8 wk of exposure. Microscopic findings provided a more sensitive index for exceeding MTD than gross observations taken only at autopsy, but generally correlated well for MTD if gross observations were taken at regular intervals during treatment. That is, to set MTD, gross observations could be used if taken over the entire course of the exposure, but using microscopic findings was generally a more reliable or sensitive measure. EPA guidelines suggest that it is inappropriate to conduct a dermal bioassay at concentrations that exceed the MTD. Acrylic acid at 4% in acetone clearly exceeded the MTD based on microscopic or gross observation criteria. At 4%, strain differences were evident by gross observation only, with the ICR strain being less susceptible to irritation than C3H or B6C3F1 strains. These strain differences were not apparent with microscopic examination. Acrylic acid at 1% in acetone, although demonstrating signs of minimal irritation, was fairly well tolerated by all mice in all strains. Thus, acrylic acid at 1% in acetone, one-quarter of the concentration that was in clear excess of the MTD, would be the appropriate dose concentration for lifetime skin studies based on MTD criteria.

The developmental toxicity of 2-ethylhexanol applied dermally to pregnant Fischer 344 rats

Undiluted 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) was administered by occluded dermal application for 6 hr per day on Gestation Days 6 through 15 to pregnant Fischer 344 rats, in range-finding (R) and main (M) studies. The dermal route is considered to be the most relevant for human exposure. Treatment levels were (R) 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 ml/kg/day (equivalent to 0, 420, 840, 1680, and 2520 mg/kg/day) and (M) 0.0, 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 ml/kg/day (equivalent to 0, 252, 840, and 2520 mg/kg/day). Controls (0.0 ml/kg/day, sham controls) received deionized water at 3.0 ml/kg/day. Dermal-positive control groups received undiluted 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) at (R) 0.5 and 1.5 ml/kg/day and (M) 1.0 ml/kg/day as a reference compound in a similar regimen. An oral reference compound, valproic acid, was administered by gavage in the range-finding study on Gestation Days 6 through 15 at 400 mg/kg/day. The range-finding study employed an untreated (naive) control group. Numbers of plug-positive females per group were (R) 8 and (M) 25. Maternal weight gain was reduced for 2-EH at 1680 (R) and 2520 (R and M studies) mg/kg/day. Exfoliation and encrustation were seen at the application site in both studies at 840, 1680, and 2520 mg/kg. Maternal liver, kidney, thymus, spleen, adrenal, and uterine weights, and gestational and fetal parameters were unaffected by treatment with 2-EH. There were no treatment-related increases in the incidence of individual or pooled external, visceral, and skeletal malformations or variations following the application of 2-EH. The NOAELs for the maternal toxicity of 2-EH were 252 mg/kg/day based on skin irritation and 840 mg/kg/day based on systemic toxicity. The developmental toxicity NOAEL was at least 2520 mg/kg/day, with no teratogenicity. Administration of 2-ME at 840 mg/kg/day resulted in reduced maternal weight gain and food consumption, increased postimplantation loss, reduced numbers of live fetuses per litter, and reduced fetal body weights per litter. The incidence of fetal malformations and variations was increased. Oral administration of VPA produced maternal toxicity, developmental toxicity, and teratogenicity. The Fischer 344 rat is thus susceptible to known rodent teratogens by both the dermal and oral routes. It is concluded that 2-EH is not developmentally toxic by the dermal route in the Fischer 344 rat at and below treatment levels which produce maternal toxicity.