This Article Free Full Text (Free OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0192623308320276v1 36/5/705    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Weinstein, D. A. Articles by Holladay, S. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Weinstein, D. A. Articles by Holladay, S. D. Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB 2,3,7,8-TETRACHLORODIBENZO-P-DIOXIN Medline Plus Health Information High Risk Pregnancy Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Mid-gestation Exposure of C57BL/6 Mice to 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin Causes Postnatal Morphologic Changes in the Spleen and Liver

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dweinste{at}vt.edu.

	Abstract

Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 5 µg/kg 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or vehicle by oral gavage between gestation days (GDs) 11 and 13. The thymus, spleen, and liver of the pups were examined histologically, and cell surface antigen expression was assessed on postnatal days (PNDs) 1, 14, 25, and 46. In addition to the expected decrease in thymic weight on PND 1, TCDD caused an increase in splenic weight on PND 14 and in hepatic weight on PNDs 14 and 25. The apoptotic index was increased and the corticomedullary border poorly defined in thymuses of TCDD-exposed mice on PND 1, but not at later endpoints. T lymphocytes were increased and B lymphocytes decreased in spleens of the TCDD-exposed mice on PND 46. TCDD-exposed mice had a nearly significant (p = .051) decrease in the number of splenic germinal centers on PND 46. Foci of extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) were increased in number in the livers of TCDD-exposed mice on PND 14, suggesting possible increased production of immune cells of unknown phenotype and function in this organ. These results suggest that late-gestation thymic architectural changes caused by TCDD resolve shortly after birth: however, abnormalities in other immunologically important areas may appear later in postnatal life.

First published on July 22, 2008, doi:10.1177/0192623308320276

Toxicologic Pathology 2008;36:705.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2008


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