Stannous chloride causes birth defects and DNA damage in zebrafish. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Humans are exposed to stannous chloride (SnCl(2)), known as tin chloride, present in packaged food, soft drinks, biocides, dentifrices, etc. Health effects in children exposed to tin and tin compounds have not been investigated yet. Therefore, we evaluated the possible teratogenic effects and genotoxic of SnCl(2) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) adults and their embryos. In the embryo-larval study, SnCl(2) showed embryo toxicity and developmental delay after exposure to the various concentrations of 10-250 muM for 120 h. Teratogenic effects including morphological malformations of the embryos and larvae were observed. The embryos exposed to 100 muM displayed tail deformation at 28 hpf and the larvae exposed to 50 muM showed reduced body growth, smaller head and eyes, bent trunk, mild pericardial edema, and smaller caudal fin at 96 hpf. The results of the teratological study show that SnCl(2) induced a significant decrease in the number of living embryos and larvae. Regarding the chromosome analysis, SnCl(2) induced a dose-dependent increase in the micronucleus (MN) frequency in peripheral erythrocytes of adult zebrafish. In blood cells, the 25 muM dose of SnCl(2) caused a nonsignificant increase in the total chromosomal aberrations, but the high doses significantly increased the total number of chromosomal aberrations compared with the control groups. Overall, the results clearly indicate that SnCl(2) is teratogenic and genotoxic to zebrafish. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2010.