Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Qum (Sep 2018)

Effect of morphine on growth and development of stomach in Balb/c mouse embryo

  • Fatemeh Ghorbani,
  • Seyed Homayoon Sadraie,
  • Gholamreza Kaka

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 7
pp. 12 – 20

Abstract

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Background and Objectives: The presence of addicts in the community, not only causes a lot of problems, but also can lead to problems for the next generation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of morphine on the appearance and histomorphometric changes of the stomach tissue in Balb/c mouse embryo.   Methods: A total of 30 adult Balb/c mice were randomly divided into five groups: control group (solvent morphine), experimental 1 and 2 (received morphine at the doses of 0.01 and 0.1mg/ml, respectively, during pregnancy) and experimental 3 and 4 (received morphine at the doses of 0.01 and 0.1mg/ml, respectively, before and during pregnancy). The pregnant mice were killed on the 20th day of pregnancy, and the embryos were removed. Weight and crown-rump length of the embryos were recorded, and the 5 micron sagittal sections were prepared. After histological processing and hematoxylin-eosin staining, the stomach tissue, were examined by light microscope and MOTIC software.   Results: The mean weight of the embryos in the experimental group 2 significantly increased compared to the control group. The mean crown-rump length significantly decreased in the experimental groups 2 and 4 compared to the control group. The mean thickness of submucosal layer in both keratinized stratified squamous epithelium and simple columnar epithelium of the stomach significantly increased in  the experimental groups 3 and 4 as compared to the control group. Moreover, the mean number of cells in the simple columnar epithelium of the stomach in experimental group 4 showed a significant increase compared to the control group.   Conclusion: The use of low-dose morphine during pregnancy can lead to an increase in the weight of the fetus and the placenta, and does not contribute to malformation and serious damage to the fetus, but high doses of this drug cause histomorphological changes in the thickness of the submucosal layer in both stratified squamous epithelium and simple columnar epithelium of the stomach.  

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