Developmental abnormalities of mouse cerebellum induced by intracisternal injection of ochratoxin A in neonatal period

Abstract

Ochratoxin A, one of the food-contaminating mycotoxins, is known to impair brain development in mammals. Slc:ICR mice were treated intracisternally with a single dose of 5 μg ochratoxin A on day 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, or 7 after birth, in order to examine the direct effects of ochratoxin A on cerebellar development. The mice in each group were killed at 30 days of age, and the brains examined by light microscopy. Body and total brain weights were reduced (7 to 15%) in the treated groups. Cerebellar weight was also significantly reduced (18 to 27%) in all treated groups. In mice treated on day 0, 1, or 2, the layered structure of the vermis was well preserved, but some animals treated on day 4, 5, or 7 had cerebella with disarranged cortical structure. The number of folia decreased and the foliation index showed a significant decrease in the groups treated on days 0, 1, and 2.