Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Toxicity in Adult Cynomolgus Monkeys (M. fascicularis): A Pilot Study

The widespread contamination of the environment with PCB, a compound used extensively by industry in hydraulic and heat transfer fluids as well as plasticizers and solvents in adhesives and sealants, has resulted in detectable tissue levels in a large portion of the human population, domestic animals, and wildlife. Intoxication with PCB produces severe hepatic necrosis, degeneration of lymphoid tissues and kidney, skin lesions, decreased reproductive performance, reduced feed efficiency, and decreased weight gain. PCB also has been reported to reduce the binding of thyroid hormone to serum proteins and enhance the peripheral metabolism of thyroxine with increased excretion of thyroxine-glucuronide in the bile (Bastomsky, Endocrinology 95: 1150-1155, 1974).The objectives of this investigation were (1) to investigate the histopathologic, histochemical, and ultrastructural changes in thyroid FC produced by the acute (4 week) and chronic (12 week) administration of low (50 ppm) and high (500 ppm) doses of PCB to rats, (2) to correlate these alterations to changes in serum immunoreactive thyroxine concentration, and (3) to investigate the persistence of the effects of PCB on the thyroid gland.

Download Full-text

Hexachlorobenzene toxicity in the monkey ovary: III. Ultrastructure induced by high (10 mg/kg) dose exposure

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100084958 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 130-131

Author(s):

A. Singh ◽

A. Dykeman ◽

J. Jarrelf ◽

D. C. Villeneuve

Keyword(s):

Present Report ◽

Reproductive Toxicity ◽

Control Group ◽

Primate Model ◽

Human Follicular Fluid ◽

Thin Sections ◽

Cynomolgus Monkeys ◽

Cacodylate Buffer ◽

Induction Cycle ◽

Comprehensive Study

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a persistent and mobile organochlorine pesticide, occurs in environment. HCB has been shown to be present in human follicular fluid. An objective of the present report, which is part of a comprehensive study on reproductive toxicity of HCB, was to determine the cytologic effects of the compound on ovarian follicles in a primate model.Materials and Methods. Eight Cynomolgus monkeys were housed under controlled conditions at Animal facility of Health and Welfare, Ottawa. Animals were orally administered gelatin capsules containing HCB mixed with glucose in daily dosages of 0.0 or 10 mg/kg b.w. for 90 days; the former was the control group. On the menstrual period following completion of dosing, the monkeys underwent an induction cycle of superovulation. At necropsy, one-half of an ovary from each animal was diced into ca. 2- to 3-mm cubed specimens that were fixed by immersion in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer (pH 7.3). Subsequent procedures followed to obtain thin sections that were examined in a Hitachi H-7000 electron microscope have been described earlier.

Download Full-text

Polychlorinated biphenyl induced hepatocyte alterations

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010012789x ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 45 ◽

pp. 716-717

Author(s):

D.N. Collins ◽

J.N. Turner ◽

K.O. Brosch ◽

R.F. Seegal

Keyword(s):

Lipid Droplets ◽

Wistar Rats ◽

Homovanillic Acid ◽

Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽

Corn Oil ◽

Environmental Pollutants ◽

Short Term ◽

Pcb Congeners ◽

Urinary Levels ◽

The Brain

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a ubiquitous class of environmental pollutants with toxic and hepatocellular effects, including accumulation of fat, proliferated smooth endoplasmic recticulum (SER), and concentric membrane arrays (CMAs) (1-3). The CMAs appear to be a membrane storage and degeneration organelle composed of a large number of concentric membrane layers usually surrounding one or more lipid droplets often with internalized membrane fragments (3). The present study documents liver alteration after a short term single dose exposure to PCBs with high chlorine content, and correlates them with reported animal weights and central nervous system (CNS) measures. In the brain PCB congeners were concentrated in particular regions (4) while catecholamine concentrations were decreased (4-6). Urinary levels of homovanillic acid a dopamine metabolite were evaluated (7).Wistar rats were gavaged with corn oil (6 controls), or with a 1:1 mixture of Aroclor 1254 and 1260 in corn oil at 500 or 1000 mg total PCB/kg (6 at each level).

Download Full-text