Neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity of N-methylolacrylamide in F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice

Toxicology and carcinogenicity studies of N-methylolacrylamide were conducted by administering the chemical by gavage in water to both sexes of F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice 5 times per week for 16 d, 13 wk, or 2 yr. In 16-d studies, rats receiving doses of 200 mg/kg or higher and mice receiving 400 mg/kg died. In 13-wk studies, all rats given 100 mg/kg or higher doses died. Rats receiving 50 mg/kg or higher doses developed hindlimb ataxia progressing to paralysis. In neurobehavioral assessments, decreased forelimb and hindlimb grip strength occurred in rats at doses as low as 12.5 mg/kg. Landing footspread was also increased in dosed rats compared to controls. Axon filament and myelin sheath degeneration in the spinal cord and/or peripheral nerves occurred in rats receiving doses of 25 mg/kg or higher. Necrosis in the granular cell layer of the cerebellum was seen in rats given 200 mg/kg. Mice receiving 200 mg/kg in 13-wk studies died. Decreased grip strength was noted in mice at doses as low as 25 mg/kg, and rotarod performance was also affected by N-methylolacrylamide administration, but no neuropathology was seen microscopically. Testicular weights were decreased at doses as low as 12.5 mg/kg, and hepatocellular necrosis, thymic lymphocyte necrosis, and hemorrhage, necrosis, and mineralization of the zona reticularis of the adrenal gland were seen in mice that died (200 mg/kg). In 2-yr studies, survival and weight gains in male and female rats receiving doses of 6 or 12 mg/kg/d were minimally affected. No biologically important clinical signs or neoplastic or nonneoplastic lesions were attributed to N-methylolacrylamide administration to rats, suggesting that higher doses could have been tolerated. In mice, survival was not different between dosed and control groups (0, 25, or 50 mg/kg/d). Body weights were higher by as much as 25% in dosed compared to control groups. No compound-related clinical signs were observed, but increases in neoplasms of the harderian gland, liver, and lung were clearly related to chemical administration in both sexes of mice. Benign granulosa-cell neoplasms of the ovary were also increased in dosed female mice.     

Proliferative exocrine pancreatic lesions in rats. The effect of sample size on the incidence of lesions

Pancreatic tissue from untreated and corn oil gavage control rats in four chronic (2-year) toxicity and carcinogenicity studies was examined microscopically for the presence of acinar hyperplasia, acinar adenoma, and acinar carcinoma. Formalin-fixed pancreatic tissue that had been saved from these rats was then examined for grossly visible lesions; and all additional available pancreatic tissue was embedded, routinely processed, and sectioned at 5-7 microns for histopathological examination. There were no additional gross lesions identified in the review of the residual tissues. However, microscopic examination of this additional tissue resulted in a marked increase in the number of proliferative lesions diagnosed. The incidence of acinar cell adenomas increased from 1/188 (0.5%) to 28/193 (15%) in untreated control male rats and from 8/194 (4%) to 73/195 (37%) in corn oil gavage vehicle control male rats. There were similar increases in hyperplasia in vehicle and untreated male rats, and similar but much less dramatic increases in hyperplasia and adenoma in vehicle and untreated control female rats. The previously reported effect of increased proliferative lesions of the exocrine pancreas of male rats given corn oil vehicle was confirmed. In addition, examination of a larger tissue sample identified a similar but smaller effect of the corn oil vehicle in female F344 rats that had not been detected by routine sampling of the pancreas.     

Liver carcinogenesis by methyl carbamate in F344 rats and not in B6C3F1 mice.

Short-term and long-term carcinogenicity of methyl carbamate (MCB) was evaluated in F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice. In experiments lasting 6, 12, and 18 months, MCB was given in water by gavage to groups of 10 male and 10 female rats at 0 or 400 mg/kg body weight, 5 days per week, and to similar groups of mice at 0 or 1,000 mg/kg. At 6 months, MCB induced atypical mitoses, cytologic alterations, cytomegaly, pigmentation, necrosis, and neoplastic nodules of the liver in rats. At 12 and 18 months, carcinomas of the liver were induced by MCB in 80-90% of male rats and in 60-80% of female rats. None was observed in control rats or in mice. In the 2-year studies, MCB was given to groups of 50 male and 50 female rats at 0, 100, or 200 mg/kg and to similar groups of mice at 0, 500, or 1,000 mg/kg, 5 days/week. Chronic focal inflammation, cytologic alteration, hyperplasia, and neoplastic nodules and carcinomas (200 mg/kg groups only) of the liver were induced by MCB in rats. Liver tumor incidence data for combined experiments in rats were: males--5% in controls, 0% in 100 mg/kg group, 14% in 200 mg/kg group, and 77% in 400 mg/kg group; females--5% in controls, 0% in controls, 0% in 100 mg/kg group, 12% in 200 mg/kg group, and 63% in 400 mg/kg group. MCB was not shown to be carcinogenic in mice.     

Chronic toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of Telone II by gavage in Fischer-344 rats and B6C3F1 mice

Telone II (technical grade, 1,3-dichloropropene), a soil fumigant, was evaluated in chronic toxicology/carcinogenicity studies using Fischer-344 (F344) rats and B6C3F1 mice of both sexes. Doses administered were 0, 25, or 50 mg/kg to rats and 0, 50, or 100 mg/kg to mice. Telone II was given in corn oil by gavage 3 times per week for 104 wk. Ancillary studies were conducted to determine time-related effects, in which dose groups containing 5 male and 5 females rats were killed after receiving Telone II for 9, 16, 21, 24, or 27 mo. The primary organs affected were the forestomach (rats and mice), urinary bladder (mice), lung (mice), and liver (rats). Compound-related non-neoplastic lesions included basal-cell or epithelial hyperplasia of the forestomach (rats and mice), epithelial hyperplasia of the urinary bladder (mice), and hydronephrosis (mice). Neoplastic lesions associated with administration of Telone II included squamous-cell papillomas of the forestomach (male and female rats, female mice), squamous-cell carcinomas of the forestomach (Male rats, female mice), transitional-cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder (female mice), alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas (female mice), and neoplastic nodules of the liver (male rats). Although cis- and trans-1,3-dichloropropene are the principal components of Telone II, the presence of 1% epichlorohydrin, a direct-acting mutagen and carcinogen added as stabilizer, may have influenced the development of forestomach lesions. The results of the ancillary studies supported the findings of the carcinogenesis studies and demonstrated the time-dependent development of lesions in the forestomach (basal-cell hyperplasia and squamous-cell papilloma). Under the conditions of these gavage studies, Telone II was shown to be carcinogenic in male and female F344 rats and female B6C3F1 mice. Although the study in male B6C3F1 mice was considered inadequate because of the low survival resulting from suppurative inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) in the control group, there was some indication of Telone II-related increases of transitional-cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder, squamous-cell papillomas of the forestomach, and alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas and carcinomas of the lung.     

Common bile duct calculi: updated experience with dissolution with methyl tertiary butyl ether

The authors describe their experience with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in a larger series of patients than previously reported in order to acquaint physicians with both its effectiveness for dissolution of common bile duct calculi and the limitations of its use. Ten patients with 13 biliary calculi underwent percutaneous stone dissolution treatment with the experimental cholesterol solvent, MTBE. Three stones completely dissolved within 30 minutes, seven were reduced in size, and three were visibly unaffected. All stones not completely dissolved were easily extracted by means of a stone basket except for one in a patient taken to surgery. Although MTBE perfusion is an effective technique for management of biliary calculi, practitioners should be aware that its use is quite time consuming and its odor difficult to control.     

Clinical MR imaging with a Helmholtz-type surface coil

Limited-field-of-view radio-frequency receiver antennas provide improved near-field sensitivity for magnetic resonance imaging by decreasing the antenna volume. The Helmholtz-type surface coil, consisting of two flat rings, is an organ-encompassing antenna that takes advantage of this principle to yield an improved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). The coil was tested in a group of 50 patients and 16 healthy volunteers. Images obtained with the Helmholtz coil demonstrated quantitatively superior S/N of 2.2-fold or greater than that of comparison body coil images, as well as qualitatively superior anatomic resolution.     

Uroscopy in the 21st century: high-field NMR spectroscopy

From the experiments described, it can be seen that there are different research approaches that can be taken and these are summarized in Table 1. Whereas much scientific research is principally hypothesis led, there remains, nevertheless, an important place for exploratory research. High resolution NMR can measure, directly and simultaneously, a wide range of endogenous metabolites in biological fluids and has the unique capability of providing structural information on the metabolites detected. It has proved to be a powerful research tool with which to study inherited metabolic diseases, renal disease, drug metabolism, and toxicity, and can be used to monitor the effects of drug therapy. For instance, by using a library of experimental toxins one can map the metabolic profile of site-specific nephron injury. With this approach in man one could eventually take an unknown disease such as Balkan nephropathy and predict the initial site of tubular injury, the mode of injury and therefore the kind of toxin capable of producing that injury. NMR spectroscopic techniques are still advancing rapidly, with ever increasing sensitivity and sophistication of NMR pulse sequences to enhance structural elucidation in complex mixtures. Given the advances in directly coupled HPLC-NMR and even HPLC-NMR-mass spectroscopy it is likely that these technologies in conjunction with pattern recognition will make major contribution to our understanding of renal processes and provide new diagnostic insights in the 21st century.