Induction of unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) by 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) plus ultraviolet A (UV-A) (PUVA) was investigated in the epidermis of female hairless mice by means of an in vivo-in vitro assay using a liquid scintillation counting method. Groups of three to five 8-week-old female hairless mice had 8-MOP applied once onto two areas of the back after stripping of the stratum corneum with adhesive tape to enhance skin penetration, and were irradiated with UV-A. Skin samples were taken and cultured in a medium containing [³H]thymidine with or without hydroxyurea (HU) for 2 hr. DNA of the epidermis was extracted, and the incorporation of [³H]thymidine into DNA and the DNA content were determined with a liquid scintillation counter and a fluorescence spectrophotometer, respectively. Induction of UDS was judged in terms of the UDS index [(the ratio of DNA synthesis in the presence of HU to that in its absence)×100]. In a time-course study, the UDS index was increased at 1,2 and 24 hr after 1×10⁵ J/m² UV-A irradiation with 0.001% 8-MOP, reaching the maximum level at 24 hr. In a dose-response study, it was significantly increased at the dose of 1×10⁵ J/m² of UV-A at 24 hr with 0.001% 8-MOP, but showed no significant change at the doses of 0.5×10⁵, 2×10⁵ and 4×10⁵ J/m². In a further study on the effect of varying the dose of 8-MOP, the UDS index was significantly increased at 0.001 and 0.002% 8-MOP at 24 hr after 1×10⁵ J/m² UV-A irradiation, reaching the maximum level with 0.002% 8-MOP. The increase of the UDS index in these studies was less than 3-fold. These results show that PUVA causes a small induction of UDS, which might be due to slow DNA excision repair over a long period.

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A collaborative study was conducted to determine useful and sensitive rat sperm motion parameters in a CellSoft Series 4000 semen analyzer to detect the effects of compounds on sperm motion. The effects on the sperm motion parameters were investigated using α-chlorohydrin, boric acid, ethinylestradiol, ethyl methanesulfonate, nitrazepam, nitrobenzene, ornidazole, sulfasalazine or valproic acid which are well known to induce reproductive or testicular toxicities. All compounds used in this study decreased percentage of motile sperm (% motile). Curvilinear velocity (VCL), maximum and mean amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH max and ALH mean) were decreased by treatment with all compounds except for valproic acid. Treatment with α-chlorohydrin, ornidazole or sulfasalazine under mid-dosage regimens decreased only these parameters. Beat cross frequency (BCF) was increased by treatment with sulfasalazine. There were some treatments which caused either decreased or increased changes irrespective of dosage regimen in linearity, average radius, percentage of circular-swimming sperm out of motile sperm (circular/motile) and percentage of circular-swimming sperm out of all sperm (circular/all). Based on these results, we concluded that % motile, VCL, ALH max and ALH mean are considered useful and sensitive parameters for evaluating the effects of compounds on sperm motion. A parameter of BCF can be useful to detect the effects of specific compounds on sperm motion. Linearity, average radius, circular/motile and circular/all are not considered useful or sensitive indicators to detect the effects of compounds on sperm motion.

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Mini rats are a transgenic rat strain carrying antisense gene for rat growth hormone (GH), resulting in retarded growth and a lower blood GH level (136±42.0 ng/mL) compared with that of age-matched parental strain Wistar rats (329±337 ng/mL). Mini rats have been used by several investigators as a GH deficiency model. In this work, we gave a single oral administration of thioacetamide (TAA), a hepatotoxicant, to both Mini rats and Wistar rats to ascertain the influence of GH deficiency on liver response to chemically induced injury and subsequent regeneration. TAA administration caused liver injury in both strains, with a greater extent of injury in Mini rats. Proliferation of bile epithelial cells and so-called oval cells was prominent at Day 3 in Mini rats only, and this change correlated well with serum total bilirubin concentrations. Antibody against Ki-67 antigen revealed that cellular proliferation after TAA-induced liver injury was suppressed but prolonged in the Mini rat liver. Although hepatic stellate cells and Kupffer cells/macrophages were more abundant in the livers of TAA-treated Mini rats, the hepatic expression patterns of hepatocyte growth factor and transforming growth factor β₁ were comparable to those of Wistar rats. Insulin-like growth factor-I gene expression was significantly reduced in the Mini rat liver. Our results imply that a lower GH level may exacerbate chemically induced liver injury, enhance infiltration/proliferation of non-parenchymal cells, suppress regeneration of hepatocytes, and induce proliferation of bile epithelial cells and oval cells when the liver is injured by TAA.

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Developmental toxicity studies were conducted in rats and rabbits with a human G-CSF derivative (NTG). As reported for G-CSF, increases in abortions and fetal mortality were observed in rabbits, but not in rats given NTG. Histopathological examination of the rabbit placenta revealed accumulation of neutrophils in vessels and necrosis of the tissues surrounding these vessels. To assess the mechanism of abortion and fetal death in rabbits given G-CSF, ¹²⁵I-labeled NTG was given intravenously on Day 18 of pregnancy after repeated administration of cold NTG on Days 6 through 17 of pregnancy, and the feto-maternal distribution of radioactivity was examined. In a rabbit given 20 μg/kg, high radioactivity was observed in the endometrium, placenta, and some parts of the decidua at 6 hr when the concentration or radioactivity in maternal blood had already decreased. At 24 hr after administration of 200 μg/kg NTG, high radioactivity was still detected in parts of the maternal placenta. These patterns of distribution suggest that embolism occurred in parts of the uterus and placenta which might have caused congestion. Radioactivity in the TCA precipitates in the fetus was low, suggesting that NTG does not readily transfer to the fetus. These results strongly suggest that neutrophils accumulated in the vessels of placenta and induced embolism leading to abortions and fetal mortality in the rabbits given G-CSF.

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Adriamycin (ADR), an anticancer drug which induces testicular toxicity, was administrated to Slc:SD male rats at doses of 0.5,1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg intravenously once a week for 4 weeks. The males treated with ADR were mated with untreated females, and sperm analyses (motion, count, and morphology) were performed. Sperm motion was analyzed by Hamilton-Thorne Sperm analyzer(HTM-IVOS) to investigate the useful parameters. Copulated females were necropsied at Day 13 of gestation, and reproductive status was evaluated. In ADR-treated groups, the testicular weight was dose-dependently decreased. Associated with this decrease was a depletion of the number of spermatogonia noted histopathologically at all dosage levels. Sperm morphological abnormalities, which were classified as tailless sperm and/or no-hook head sperm, were increased in both the 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg groups. The males treated with ADR at 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg had a decreased number of sperms per cauda epididymis. In sperm motion analysis, decreases in the percentage of motile sperm, percentage of progressive sperm, and sperm velocity (straight line velocity and curvilinear velocity) were noted at 2.0 mg/kg. Impaired fertility was noted at 2.0 mg/kg in the form of decreased numbers of implantations and live embryos, and an increased number of pre-implantation losses. In conclusion, ADR induced deterioration of sperm motion and sperm content, which were responsible for the adverse effect on male fertility. The most sensitive indicators to detect male reproductive toxicity induced by ADR were testicular weight and histopathological findings in the testis. Among the parameters generated by HTM-IVOS, the percentage of motile sperm, the percentage of progressive sperm, and sperm velocity are useful for assessing male fertility.

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