Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Affects the Proliferation and Differentiation of the Osteoblasts from Newborn Rats

Alcohol exerts teratogenic effects and its consumption during pregnancy may cause various alterations in the fetus, including deficit of bone development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the initial responses, on osteoblasts isolated from newborn rat calvaria, after prenatal ethanol exposure. Nine pregnant rats were divided into three groups according to the diet fed during pregnancy: Rats fed 20% ethanol, pair-fed and control were the groups. At 3 days of life, newborn rats were euthanized for removal of the calvaria and isolation of osteogenic cells by sequential enzymatic digestion. The cells were cultured for a maximum period of 14 days. The effect of alcohol was investigated by the measurement of cell adhesion, proliferation and viability, total protein content, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) activity and bone matrix formation. The results showed the highest proliferation in ETH group on the 3th day and the highest ALP activity and bone matrix formation, in this group, on the 14th day, indicating that prenatal ethanol seems to affect the proliferation early and the ALP activity and bone matrix formation in more advanced periods.