Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on the Visual System of Monkeys Measured at Different Stages of Development.

Purpose: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a developmental disease characterized by behavioral problems and physical defects including malformations of the eye and associated optical defects. How these malformations affect retinal functioning is not well known, although animal models have suggested that scotopic vision is particularly deficient. Age is also known to affect scotopic vision. Here, we determined the combined effects of age and fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) on retinal function using full-field electroretinograms (ERGs) in monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus). Methods: ERGs were recorded in monkeys aged 3- to 12-years old, at multiple flash intensities under scotopic and photopic conditions, and functions were fit to the amplitudes of the a- and b-waves. Results: We found that both age and alcohol exposure affected ERGs. In photopic ERGs, amplitudes increased with age, and were higher in FAEs than controls, for data related to the OFF- and ON-pathways. In scotopic ERGs, amplitudes were decreased in young FAE compared with age-matched controls but only for the rod-dominated responses, while at brighter flashes, alcohol exposure led to an increase in the amplitude of the a- and b-waves. Conclusions: The ERGs from the FAE animals closely resembled the data from the older sucrose-control monkeys. This suggests that the FAE monkey retina ages more quickly than the control monkeys. This large sample of nonhuman primates, with carefully monitored ethanol exposure, demonstrates the critical interplay between age and alcohol when assessing the integrity of the retina. We suggest that ERGs might be an important adjunct to diagnosing human FASD.

Ingestion of excessive preformed vitamin A by mothers amplifies storage of retinyl esters in early fetal livers of captive Old World monkeys.

Excessive preformed vitamin A (VA) intake is contraindicated during pregnancy because of teratogenic concerns. Recent studies have provided biochemical and histologic evidence of chronic hypervitaminosis A in captive Old World monkeys consuming laboratory diets containing high concentrations of retinyl acetate. To investigate the effects of maternal chronic overconsumption of preformed VA on VA storage in early fetal liver, we analyzed monkey fetal livers ranging from 35 to 93 d gestational age (comparable with mid-first to late second trimester in humans) for VA (n = 19) and retinoic acid (n = 9). Retinyl esters were identified in all fetal livers, and retinol, on a percentage basis, was more abundant in younger fetuses. Liver VA concentration increased with gestational age, ranging from 0.0011 to 0.26 micromol/g in the youngest (35 d) and oldest fetuses (93 d), respectively. Liver VA concentrations (mean +/- 1 standard deviation) were 0.023 +/- 0.008 micromol/g in early gestation and 0.19 +/- 0.06 micromol/g in midgestation fetuses. All-trans retinoic acid concentrations were higher in early gestation (99.2 +/- 57.0 pmol/g, n = 6) than in midgestation (18.2 +/- 6.1 pmol/g, n = 3) but were variable. Liver VA concentrations from midgestation fetuses were higher than those in fetal human and monkey livers from later stages of development, when growth and VA accumulation rates are assumed to be highest. Therefore, excessive intake of preformed VA by the mothers results in amplified early fetal liver retinyl ester storage.

In vitro fertilization and preimplantation embryo development of African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops).

Ovaries of five adult female African green monkeys were stimulated by repeated administrations of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG), followed by a single administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Oocytes were collected from enlarged follicles 28 h after hCG administration and incubated in vitro for 288 h. Oocytes that had extruded the first polar body were inseminated with spermatozoa that had been incubated for 4 to 6 h in medium with caffeine and dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Of these oocytes, 66% were fertilized and the incidence of polyspermy was 37%. Eighty-two percent of the fertilized eggs cleaved, with some developing into expanded blastocysts.

Age-related expression of the CD15 (3-fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine) epitope in the monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops L.) lateral geniculate nucleus.

The profile of the CD15 epitope-expression was studied in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of a monkey species (Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops L.) during the peri- and postnatal development. Intense labeling of the neuropil and of astroglial cells was detected. Morphological examination of the spatio-temporal appearance of the CD15-expression showed different consecutive patterns of expression: expression of the CD15 epitope was high one week prenatally and during the first postnatal weeks. During this perinatal period it was mainly expressed in the interlaminar zone of the magnocellular portion of the LGN. This was followed by a time period when immunoreactivity gradually decreased to become almost absent by approximately 10 weeks of age. Toward adulthood a different pattern of immunoreactivity occurred, revealing a pattern of lamination that was attributable to CD15 positive astrocytes, most prominent in the cellular layers 1 and 2. They were later on seen spread out through the entire LGN such that the LGN of adult animals was entirely filled with positive material. From the temporal correlation of CD15-expression and LGN histogenesis it is concluded that the high level of CD15, that is observed in the neuropil during the perinatal period, matches with high synaptic plasticity within the visual system; in contrast, low levels of CD15-expression correlate with synaptic reorganization processes.

[Cultivation of monolayer cultures of primary and transplantable animal cells in a device with regulated growth conditions]. / Kul'tivirovanie odnosloinykh kul'tur pervichnykh i perevivaemykh kletok zhivotnykh v apparate s regulirovaniem uslovii rosta.

Primary, diploid and continuous cell lines were cultivated in the apparatus "Cellotron-1". Rashig's ring was used as an underlay in the apparatus. Fresh medium perfusion, pH control, the medium aeration, temperature control, as well as dissolved oxygen control were exercised in the cultivator. Various cell types have demonstrated a significant increase as compared to the control stationary cultivation: diploid green monkey embryo cells increased 7.5-fold for 5 days, continuous green monkey kidney cells 8-fold for 4 days, primary monkey kidney cells 2-fold for 7 days.