Title: Conceptual biotransformation of 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid, 4-oxo-13-cis-retinoic acid and all-trans-retinoyl-beta-glucuronide in rat whole embryo culture.

Authors: Creech Kraft, J; Juchau, M R

Published In Biochem Pharmacol, (1992 May 28)

Abstract: In cultured rat conceptuses, intraamniotic microinjections of 2500 ng/mL of 4-oxo-13-cis-retinoic acid, 600 ng/mL 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid or 4000 ng/mL all-trans-retinoyl-beta-glucuronide, produce qualitatively and quantitatively similar patterns of dysmorphogenesis as those reported after the intraamniotic microinjection of 250 ng/mL all-trans-retinoic acid [Lee et al., Teratology 44: 313-323, 1991; Creech Kraft et al., Teratology 45: 259-270, 1992]. In the present study, we utilized HPLC techniques to analyze retinoid levels in cultured rat conceptuses, 1.5 hr after intraamniotic microinjections of 4-oxo-13-cis-retinoic acid (2500 ng/mL), 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid (600 ng/mL) or all-trans-retinoyl-beta-glucuronide (4000 ng/mL). Our findings show that, after the microinjections of 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid or 4-oxo-13-cis-retinoic acid (at these selected concentrations), 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid was predominant in the embryos proper at concentrations of about 200 nM. This was roughly equivalent to the levels of all-trans-retinoic acid assayed after microinjections of all-trans-retinoyl-beta-glucuronide (4000 ng/mL). We conclude from these studies that both 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid and all-trans-retinoic acid behave as ultimate or proximate dysmorphogens.

PubMed ID: 1599515

MeSH Terms: Animals; Biotransformation; Embryo, Mammalian/metabolism*; Isotretinoin/metabolism; Microinjections; Models, Biological; Morphogenesis/drug effects; Organ Culture Techniques; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Stereoisomerism; Time Factors; Tretinoin/analogs & derivatives*; Tretinoin/analysis; Tretinoin/metabolism; Tretinoin/pharmacology