Prenatal exposure to nitrofen induces fryns phenotype in mice

Prenatal exposure to nitrofen is known to cause multiple malformations in m ice, The reported malformations include lung hypoplasia, diaphragmatic hern ia, cardiovascular defects, skeletal malformations, cleft palate, and renal abnormalities, The authors present detailed findings of craniofacial defec ts after prenatal exposure to nitrofen, and propose that together with the previously reported malformations, nitrofen exposure induces a Fryns phenot ype in mice. Fryns syndrome is a rare human genetic syndrome that is an aut osomal recessive disorder characterized by lung hypoplasia, diaphragmatic h ernia, craniofacial malformations, skeletal malformations, cardiovascular m alformations, and genitourinary malformations, Timed-pregnant Swiss Webster mice were gavage-fed 25 mg of nitrofen on day 8 of gestation. Control anim als received olive oil. Osteogenesis and chondrogenesis were studied in fet uses recovered on day 17 after Alcian blue-Alizarin red staining. Approxima tely 26% of the nitrofen-exposed embryos had severe craniofacial defects, a nd there was generalized delay in chondrogenesis and osteogenesis throughou t the skeleton. No such defects were noted in the central group. The author s propose that prenatal exposure to nitrofen induces a Fryns phenotype in m ice, and thus speculate that nitrofen may target similar molecular mechanis ms to those that lead to Fryns syndrome.