Potential Teratogenicity of Methimazole: Exposure of Zebrafish Embryos to Methimazole Causes Similar Developmental Anomalies to Human Methimazole Embryopathy

摘要: While methimazole (MMI) is widely used in the therapy for hyperthyroidism, several groups have reported that maternal exposure to MMI results a variety of congenital anomalies, including choanal and esophageal atresia, iridic retinal coloboma, delayed neurodevelopment. Thus, adverse effects on fetal development long been suggested; however, direct evidence teratogenicity has not presented. Therefore, we studied early by using zebrafish as model organism. The fertilized eggs were collected immediately after spawning grown egg culture water containing at various concentrations. External observation embryos revealed high concentrations resulted loss pigmentation, hypoplastic hindbrain, turbid tissue forebrain, swelling notochord, curly trunk. Furthermore, these occurred dose-dependent manner. Precise serial cross-sections MMI-exposed elucidated hypoplasia whole brain spinal cord, narrowing pharynx esophagus, severe disruption retina, aberrant structure notochord. These neuronal, pharyngeal, esophageal, anomalous morphologies analogy anomalies observed children exposed utero. Here, show teratogenic provide first experimental connection between human embryopathy.