Effect of Bone Marrow Transplantation on the Fetal Skeleton of Maternally Irradiated Pregnant Rats.

Background And Objective: Prenatal exposure to ionizing radiation can interfere with embryonic and fetal growth depending on the dose and gestational age. The present study was completed to evaluate the effect of transplanted bone marrow on the fetal skeleton of pregnant rats exposed to gamma radiation.

Materials And Methods: Experimental animals were separated into 5 groups: C group, R7 group, R7+BM group, R14 group and R14+BM group. All pregnant rats were sacrificed on day 20 days of gestation and the skeletal systems of the fetuses were examined and photographed. This study focused on skull, upper and lower jaw, occipital region, sacral and caudal region, fore and hind limbs.

Results: Gamma rays caused any disturbance in the ossification process of the skull bones, upper and lower jaws, occipital bones, it caused the loss of some ossification centers in metacarpal bones, metatarsal bones but bone marrow transplantation greatly reduced the injury that happened because of γ-radiation.

Conclusion: This study showed that transplantation of bone marrow post-irradiation in pregnant rats could reduce the hazards of gamma-irradiation in the different regions of the fetal skeleton.