Abstract
Pregnant Wistar rats on day 13 of gestation were treated with T-2 toxin at a single oral dose of 2 mg/kg. Rats were sacrificed at 24 and 48 hours after treatment (HAT), and the dams, placenta and fetuses were subjected to histopathological examination. In the dams treated with T-2 toxin, single cell necrosis was observed in the thymus, spleen, liver, stomach, intestines, salivary glands and pancreas. In the liver, fatty change was also observed. In one dam at 24 HAT, hemorrhage from the vagina was observed macroscopically, and hemorrhage in the placenta and single cell necrosis of cytotrophoblasts were observed microscopically. In the fetuses, increase of single cell necrosis was observed in the central nervous system at 24 HAT. At 48 HAT, single cell necrosis of hematopoietic cells and hepatocytes was also increased in the liver. These results indicate that T-2 toxin may induce changes with similar histopathological nature in dam’s organs, placentae and fetuses. These results also suggest that changes observed in the fetuses are caused by the direct effect of T-2 toxin.
