Morphological, Biochemical and Ultrastructural Changes in the Pregnant Rat Placenta and the Liver of their Fetuses Treated with Folic Acid and / or Gamma Radiation

Abstract

Backgrounds: The efficacy of antioxidant supplementation and oxidative stress of gamma irradiation for and during pregnancy is poorly established. The present study aimed to detect the toxic effects of high dose of folic acid and / or gamma radiation on the placenta of pregnant rat and the liver of their fetuses. Material and Methods: Pregnant albino rats were divided into four groups. The first group served as a control, the second group received oral intake of folic acid (5 mg/kg) from the 5th to 20th day of gestation, the third group was irradiated with gamma radiation (3Gy, as fractionated doses (1Gy/ 3 times) on each 5th, 10th and 15th days of gestation, the fourth group was imanaged with combined treatment. The pregnant rats were sacrified after 20 days of pregnancy and samples were taken from the blood, placenta and the fetal liver for the morphological, biochemical and electron microscopic studies. Results: The present results showed a significant elevation in serum gamma glutamyltransferase (GT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in placental tissue of pregnant rats associated with an increase of phosphorus content in liver of fetuses. Fetal malformations including: protrusion, anotia, short neck dactylomegaly, subcutaneous haemorrhage, paralysis in the fore limbs and congested blood vessels. The ultrastructural changes revealed sever damage in the placenta following folic acid administration and / or exposure to whole body gamma radiation. Also the fetal liver showed an appearent signs of damage under the combined treatment. The obtained changes were represented by: dilatation of the blood sinsoids, swollen mitochondria, fragmented rough endoplasmic reticulum and necrosis. Conclusion: It could be concluded that administration of folic acid and/or exposure to gamma radiation during pregnancy induced morphological, biochemical and ultrastructural changes in both placenta of the pregnant rats and liver of their fetuses.