Dysmorphogenic effects of some fungicides derived from the imidazole on rat embryos cultured in vitro

Like triazole-derivs., imidazole-derivs. exert their antifungal and toxicol. properties by inhibiting P 450 enzymes (Cyps). At the embryonic level, Cyp enzymes are involved also in the catabolism of the retinoic acid. Specific effects of triazole-derivs. have been reported on developing rodent embryos, and were correlated to an imbalance of the retinoid homeostasis. The aim of this work was to investigate if imidazole-derivs. are able to induce specific malformations similar to those obsd. after triazole-deriv. exposure. Post implantation rat embryos were exposed in vitro to 1000 mM Imidazole and to 5-100 mM of the imidazole-derivs. Ketoconazole and Enilconazole. After 48 h in culture, the embryos exposed to the imidazole-derivs. showed specific malformations, quite similar to those obsd. after triazole-deriv. exposure. The common dysmorphogenic effects of the azole-derivs. of the two classes could be due to the inhibition of retinoid catabolism. From this point of view, the contemporaneous exposure to these substances or their therapeutic use could be considered as potentially dangerous for human conceptuses. [on SciFinder (R)]