Changes of complement and coagulant system of pregnant mice administered beryllium chloride by subcutaneous injection

The manner in which complement and coagulant system respond to beryllium (Be) administration was investigated using pregnant mice immediately before delivery at the time point of about 19 days after Be injection and pregnancy. In both the pregnant and pregnant Be-treated groups the CH50 and ACH50 values were observed to decrease significantly, compared to the 2 nonpregnant (the control and Be-treated) groups. Both pregnant groups showed a significant decrease in C3 content compared to the controls. Although there was no difference, C3 content in the pregnant Be-treated group was lower than in the pregnant group. It is known that pregnancy is a hypercoagulable state and that it is partly caused by the increased activity of factor VII in plasma, We observed that the prothrombin time was shorter in the pregnant Be-treated than in the pregnant group, As to the factor VII activity, it was observed that coagulation time tended to be shortened slightly in the Be-treated and pregnant groups compared to the controls, and was significantly shortened in the pregnant Be-treated group, Whether the group was pregnant or nonpregnant, the coagulation time tended to shorten by Be injection. Be injection enhanced the pregnancy-induced decrease in C3 content and the pregnancy-induced activation in coagulant system.