Neonatal death of mice treated with perfluorooctane sulfonate

Pregnant mice exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) cause neonatal death. Ten pregnant ICR mice per group were given 1,10 or 20 mg/kg PFOS daily by gavage from gestational day (GD) 0 to the end of the study. Five dams per group were sacrificed for histopathological examination of lungs and heads of fetuses and neonates at birth. PFOS treatment (20 mg/kg) reduced the maternal weight gain and feed intake but increased the water intake. The liver weight increased in a dose-dependent manner accompanied by hepatic hypertrophy at 20mg/kg. PFOS reduced the fetal body weight in a dose-dependent manner and caused a bilateral enlargement in thhe neck region in all fetuses at 20mg/kg and mild enlargement in some fetuses at 10mg/kg, in addition to seletal malformations. Almost all fetuses at 20mg/lg were alive on GD18 and showed normal lung structure; but ap parturtion. all neonates were inactive and weak showed severe lung atelectasis and severe dilatation of intracramial blood vessel, and died within a few hours. At 10mg/kg all neonates were born alive 27% showed slight lung atelectasis, all of them had mild to severe dilatation of the intacranial blood vessel and 45% of neonates died within 24hr. The cause of neonatal death in mice exposed to PFOS may nbe attributed either to the intacranial blood vessel dilatation or to respiratory dysfunction. The former might be a cause of the lattr.