Accumulation pattern of Dechlorane Plus and associated biological effects on rats after 90 d of exposure

Abstract

Recent studies have indicated that Dechlorane Plus (DP) is widespread in the environments. However, different isomer-specific enrichment pattern of syn-DP and anti-DP was reported in biological samples from the field. In this study, Sprague–Dawley rats were consecutively exposed to commercial DP 25 by gavage for 90d at different doses (0, 1, 10, and 100mgkg−1d−1) to investigate the accumulation pattern of syn-DP and anti-DP in liver, muscle, and serum of rats. The possible biological effects of DP on rats were also examined. Results showed that DP preferentially accumulated in the liver rather than in muscle at all exposure levels. No significant stereoselectivity of anti-DP or syn-DP in tissues was observed in the low DP exposure groups (0 and 1mgkg−1d−1) with fanti values (defined as the concentration of the anti-DP divided by the sum of concentrations of anti- and syn-DP) ranging from 0.74 to 0.78. However, fanti values reduced (fanti ranged from 0.26 to 0.30) significantly in the high DP exposure groups (10 and 100mgkg−1d−1) and syn-DP was predominant in all tissues. Biochemical parameters in serum, the mRNA expression levels of certain enzymes and their activities in liver were detected. There was no observable-effect in histopathology and death during the experiment, although the mRNA expression levels of some genes in the low dosage group decreased significantly and enzyme activity of CYP 2B2 increased.