Effects of uranium poisoning on cultured preimplantation embryos

The toxic effect of uranium in cultured preimplantation embryos of the mouse is presented. Embryos were obtained from hybrid females CBA x C57 BL following induction of superovulation and were incubated in M16 cultured medium. Two different experiments were performed. In one, embryos in a one-cell stage were placed in culture media with final concentrations of uranyl nitrate of 104 and 208 microg/mL during 120 h in the same dish. In the other experiment, embryos in a one-cell stage were placed in culture medium with uranyl nitrate with final U concentrations of 26, 52, 104, and 208 microg/mL. At 24 h, those embryos which had reached the two-cell stage were transferred to another culture dish to which fresh solutions with uranyl nitrate were added. The percentage of embryos in two-cell stage, morula, early blastocyst, expanded blastocyst, and hatched blastocyst were recorded at 24, 72, 96 and 120 h of culture. The results obtained showed that concentrations as from 26 microg U/mL induced the delay of embryo development and the impairment of blastomere proliferation. The toxic effect of uranium increased in those experiments in which the embryos were transferred to a new medium. This embryo-culture system appears to be appropriate to evaluate the toxic effect of uranium on embryos removed from maternal influences and represents a suitable test system for environmental pollutants.