Effects of polychlorocamphene on some organs and their nervous structures in pregnant animals

Abstract

Experiments on pregnant albino rats showed that after daily oral administration of polychlorocamphene (an organochlorine compound widely used in agriculture) in a dose of 12 mg/kg (0.05 LD50) interconnected structural and enzymic changes take place in the nervous structures of the organs studied. The changes consisted of focal injury to nervous structures of the cerebral cortex, and progressive development of destructive processes in the nervous structures of the heart, uterus, and spinal cord toward the end of pregnancy. Against the background of a fall in cholinesterase (CE) activity in the cytoplasm of the neurons, distinctive changes occurred in the enzyme spectrum with preservation of activity in CE-positive pericellular structures, the number of which was considerably smaller than in the control. Predominance of destructive processes toward the end of pregnancy was due to marked accumulation of the compound in the heart, uterus, and brain, as shown by thin-layer chromatography. The presence of polychlorocamphene in the fetal organs indicates a disturbance of permeability of the transplacental barrier and a possible effect of the compound on the development of the fetal nervous system.