Teratogenic effects of intrauterine injection of acetazolamide and amiloride in hamsters

To learn if acetazolamide acts at an intrauterine site when it produces limb deformities in the hamster, acetazolamide was injected into one horn of the pregnant uterus and an inactive analogue into the opposite horn. Significantly more forelimb malformations occurred in the acetazolamide‐injected horns, but hindlimb malformations occurred with equal frequency in both horns. These results suggest that acetazolamide acts at an intrauterine site when it produces forelimb malformations, but may not do so when it produces hindlimb malformations. In other experiments, acetazolamide was given intraperitoneally, and a dose of amiloride, too small to affect the acetazolamide‐induced extrauterine potassium alterations, was also injected into one uterine horn and a control solution into the opposite. Significantly fewer forelimb malformations occurred in the amiloride‐injected horns, suggesting that amiloride can act at an intrauterine site to reduce the incidence of forelimb malformations without affecting the extrauterine potassium changes.