Ethoxyethanol behavioral teratology in rats.

2-ethoxyethanol, a solvent developed for nitrocellulose and also used in lacquers, dyes, varnish removers, and in numerous industrial processes, was evaluated for possible functional effects in offspring of rats exposed during gestation. A dose finding study revealed that no offspring survived inhalation exposure (7 hours/day) from gestation days 7-13 or 14-20 at 900 ppm, and there were approximately 34 percent neonatal deaths even after prenatal exposure to 200 ppm-the current Federal occupational standard. Consequently, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 100 ppm ethoxyethanol for 7 hours/day on gestation days 7-13 or 14-20. The only effect observed in the mothers was slightly prolonged gestation in he mothers exposed on days 14-20 of gestation (p less than .001). Behavioral testing of offspring from dams exposed to ethoxyethanol on gestation days 7-13 revealed: (a) impaired performance on a rotorod test of neuromuscular ability (p = .002); (b) prolonged latency of leaving the start area of an open field (p = .009); and (c) marginal superiority in avoidance conditioning begun on day 34 of age (p = 061). Offspring from dams exposed to ethoxyethanol on gestation days 14-20: (a) were less active than controls in a running wheel (p = 0.32), and (b) received an increased number and duration of shocks in avoidance conditioning begun on day 60 of age (p = .004). Neurochemical evaluation of whole-brain samples from newborn pups revealed significantly decreased levels of norepinephrine in offspring from both exposure periods (p less than .01). In regional analyses of brains from 21-day-old offspring of dams exposed to 100 ppm ethoxyethanol on gestation days 7-13, the cerebrum had significant elevations in acetylcholine (p less than .01), norepinephrine ( p less than .01), and dopamine (p less than .05), the cerebellum had nearly a 3-fold increase in acetylcholine (p less than .01); the brainstem had an increase in norepinephrine (p less than 0.01); and the midbrain had excesses of acetylcholine (p less than .01), norepinephrine (p less than .05) and protein (p less than .05). In brains from 21-day-old offspring of dams exposed to ethoxyethanol on gestation days 14-20, the cerebrum had significant elevations in acetylcholine, dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (p less than .05). Overall, the results indicate that there are behavioral and neurochemical alterations in offspring of rats following prenatal exposure to 100 ppm ethoxyethanol.