2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin Affects Size and Shape, But Not Asymmetry, of Mandibles in Mice

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), the random differences between the left and right sides of a bilaterally symmetrical character, is often purported to be a sensitive measure of developmental instability particularly in populations exposed to environmental stressors. As the level of developmental instability increases, often too does the level of FA. In this study we tested the hypothesis that exposure of pregnant mice to low doses of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlordibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) would increase the level of FA in the mandibles of their offspring. We used ten landmark coordinates around the mandible to create a single size variable (centroid size) and 20 Procrustes shape variables. These were used to test for effects of dioxin on mandible size and shape and their asymmetries. We found no detectable effect of TCDD on levels of FA in either size or shape of the mandible, but TCDD did produce a significant decrease in mandible size, and a significant effect on the overall shape.

[1]  W. Doyle,et al.  Stress and fluctuating limb asymmetry in various species of rodents. , 1975, Growth.

[2]  L. Birnbaum.  Developmental effects of dioxins. , 1995, Environmental health perspectives.

[3]  H. Merker,et al.  A survey of the embryotoxic effects of TCDD in mammalian species. , 1973, Environmental health perspectives.

[4]  J. H. Graham,et al.  Effects of lead and benzene on the developmental stability of Drosophila melanogaster , 1993, Ecotoxicology.

[5]  L. Leamy.  Morphometric studies in inbred and hybrid house mice. I. Patterns in the mean values. , 1982, The Journal of heredity.

[6]  L S Birnbaum,et al.  A critical review of the developmental toxicity and teratogenicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin: recent advances toward understanding the mechanism. , 1990, Teratology.

[7]  G. Stein,et al.  2,3,7,8‐Tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin inhibits differentiation of normal diploid rat osteoblasts in vitro , 1994, Journal of cellular biochemistry.

[8]  G. Lucier,et al.  Environmental toxicology of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. , 1993, Environmental health perspectives.

[9]  M. B. Gillespie,et al.  Suppression of estrogen-regulated extracellular tissue plasminogen activator activity of MCF-7 cells by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. , 1987, Cancer research.

[10]  K. Schramm,et al.  Considerations on genetic and environmental factors that contribute to resistance or sensitivity of mammals including humans to toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds. Part 1: Genetic factors affecting the toxicity of TCDD. , 1997, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[11]  D. Nebert,et al.  Differential regulation of mouse Ah receptor gene expression in cell lines of different tissue origins. , 1996, Archives of biochemistry and biophysics.

[12]  J. Cheverud,et al.  A SEARCH FOR QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI AFFECTING ASYMMETRY OF MANDIBULAR CHARACTERS IN MICE , 1997, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[13]  W. Doyle,et al.  Fluctuating dental asymmetry as an indicator of the stressful prenatal effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the laboratory rat. , 1977, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[14]  C. Waddington.  Canalization of Development and the Inheritance of Acquired Characters , 1942, Nature.

[15]  Christian Peter Klingenberg,et al.  GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS OF DEVELOPMENTAL INSTABILITY: ANALYZING PATTERNS OF FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY WITH PROCRUSTES METHODS , 1998, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[16]  L. V. Valen,et al.  A STUDY OF FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY , 1962 .

[17]  D. C. Freeman,et al.  Developmental stability and its applications in ecotoxicology , 1993, Ecotoxicology.

[18]  D. Kendall.  MORPHOMETRIC TOOLS FOR LANDMARK DATA: GEOMETRY AND BIOLOGY , 1994 .

[19]  R. Turner,et al.  Estrogen inhibition of periosteal bone formation in rat long bones: down-regulation of gene expression for bone matrix proteins. , 1990, Endocrinology.

[20]  F. Bonhomme,et al.  Fluctuating Asymmetry in Mus musculus Subspecific Hybridization , 1996 .

[21]  Larry J. Leamy,et al.  Morphometric Studies in Inbred and Hybrid House Mice. V. Directional and Fluctuating Asymmetry , 1984, The American Naturalist.

[22]  L. Birnbaum,et al.  TCDD-induced altered expression of growth factors may have a role in producing cleft palate and enhancing the incidence of clefts after coadministration of retinoic acid and TCDD. , 1990, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[23]  A. Hoffmann,et al.  THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY, TRAIT VARIABILITY, TRAIT HERITABILITY, AND STRESS: A MULTIPLY REPLICATED EXPERIMENT ON COMBINED STRESSES IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER , 1999, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[24]  S. Safe,et al.  Effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and related compounds on the occupied nuclear estrogen receptor in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. , 1990, Cancer research.

[25]  L. Birnbaum,et al.  Ah receptor in embryonic mouse palate and effects of TCDD on receptor expression. , 1994, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[26]  A. Palmer.  Fluctuating asymmetry analyses: a primer , 1994 .

[27]  G L Kimmel,et al.  Developmental and reproductive toxicity of dioxins and related compounds: cross-species comparisons. , 1993, Critical reviews in toxicology.

[28]  J. Peters,et al.  Amelioration of TCDD-induced teratogenesis in aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-null mice. , 1999, Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology.

[29]  P. Samollow,et al.  ASYMMETRY ANALYSIS IN FISHES: A POSSIBLE STATISTICAL INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS , 1973 .

[30]  L. Leamy,et al.  Effects of Methoxychlor on Directional and Fluctuating Asymmetry of Mandible Characters in Mice , 1999 .

[31]  Geoffrey M. Clarke,et al.  Relationships Between Developmental Stability and Fitness: Application for Conservation Biology , 1995 .

[32]  B. N. Gupta,et al.  Postnatal effects of maternal exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). , 1973, Environmental health perspectives.

[33]  R. Pohjanvirta,et al.  Exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin leads to defective dentin formation and pulpal perforation in rat incisor tooth. , 1993, Toxicology.

[34]  A. Badyaev,et al.  STRESS AND DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY: VEGETATION REMOVAL CAUSES INCREASED FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY IN SHREWS , 2000 .

[35]  Matthew H. Kaufman,et al.  The Atlas of Mouse Development , 1992 .

[36]  I. Thesleff,et al.  Epidermal growth factor receptor as a mediator of developmental toxicity of dioxin in mouse embryonic teeth. , 1998, Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology.

[37]  T. Flynn,et al.  17 beta-estradiol acts directly on the clonal osteoblastic cell line UMR106. , 1987, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[38]  G. M. Clarke,et al.  The effect of avermectin B1 on developmental stability in the bush fly, Musca vetustissima, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry , 1990 .