Enhanced teratogenic activity of di-n-butyltin diacetate by carbon tetrachloride pretreatment in rats.

Di-n-butyltin diacetate (DBTA) has been shown previously to cause malformations such as cleft mandible, ankyloglossia and fused ribs in rat foetuses after oral treatment of dams on day 8 of gestation. In this study, effects of pretreatment with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the teratogenic activity of DBTA were examined in Wistar rats. Pregnant rats were pretreated sc with CCl4 (0.5 ml/kg) on days 6 and 7 of gestation and were treated orally with DBTA on day 8 of gestation at doses of 0, 4.5, 10 or 22 mg/kg. Caesarean sections were performed on day 20 of gestation, and foetuses were examined for external and skeletal anomalies. Pretreatment with CCl4 enhanced the incidence of external and skeletal malformations caused by DBTA. Concentrations of di-n-butyltin in embryos, maternal liver and maternal blood on day 9 of gestation were increased by CCl4 pretreatment, which inhibited the activity of maternal hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing enzymes. These results suggest that there is little probability that metabolites of DBTA make a critical contribution to the teratogenicity of DBTA.