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Toxicity of 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl to mink

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Abstract

Diets supplemented with 0.01 or 0.05 ppm (mg/kg) of 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (345-HCB) were fed to mink to investigate the toxicological manifestations of this toxic polychlorinated biphenyl congener in a sensitive species. Dietary exposure of mink to 0.05 ppm 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl for 135 days resulted in 50% mortality while no deaths occurred on 0.01 ppm 345-HCB. Clinical signs of toxicity included anorexia, bloody stools, disrupted molting patterns, and thickened, elongated and deformed nails. Ascites and gastric ulcers were present in animals that died. Statistically significant increases in liver, kidney, and adrenal gland weights were found in the 345-HCB-treated mink. Decreases in total and free triiodothyronine concentrations were observed in mink fed the 345-HCB-treated diets and total thyroxine was decreased in the mink fed 0.05 ppm 345-HCB. No consistent histopathologic lesions were found in the thyroid or adrenal glands of the 345-HCB-treated mink, nor were there any statistically significant differences between the 345-HCB-treated and the control mink in serum epidermal growth factor levels, plasma 17β-estradiol and progesterone concentrations, hepatic aminopyrine N-demethylase, and benzo(α)pyrene hydroxylase activities, hypothalamic norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin concentrations or in the incorporation of (3H) thymidine by concanavalin-A-stimulated lymphocytes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Animal Science and Pathology, and Center for Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, Michigan

    R. J. Aulerich, S. J. Bursian, M. G. Evans, J. R. Hochstein, K. A. Koudele, B. A. Olson & A. C. Napolitano

Authors
  1. R. J. Aulerich
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  2. S. J. Bursian
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  3. M. G. Evans
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  4. J. R. Hochstein
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  5. K. A. Koudele
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  6. B. A. Olson
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  7. A. C. Napolitano
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Published with the approval of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station as Journal Article Number11963.

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Aulerich, R.J., Bursian, S.J., Evans, M.G. et al. Toxicity of 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl to mink. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 16, 53–60 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055359

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055359

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