DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL-EFFECTS OF EARLY POSTNATAL EXPOSURE TO TRIETHYLTIN IN RATS

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 3  (3) , 285-293
Abstract
On day 5 of postnatal life, rat pups received a single injection of triethyltin and were later tested for a variety of developmental and adult behaviors. A within-litter dosing design was used with 1 male and 1 female from each litter (8 pups/litter) receiving 0 (normal saline vehicle), 3, 6 or a high dose of 9 or 12 mg/kg triethyltin bromide (TET). The high doses of TET produced 50 and 80% mortality, respectively. For the 3 and 6 mg/kg groups, TET-exposure resulted in a transient decrease in body weight and a permanent decrease in brain weight. Preweaning TET-exposed pups were less successful in descending a rope and were less active in a homing orientation test and a figure-eight maze. When tested as adults, these animals were consistently more active than controls in the figure-eight maze. A single exposure to TET in the developing rat, unlike the adult, produced permanent alterations in brain and behavior. Acute postnatal exposure to toxicants may have general applicability as a model for developmental neurotoxicity.