The Journal of Toxicological Sciences
Online ISSN : 1880-3989
Print ISSN : 0388-1350
ISSN-L : 0388-1350
Volume 27, Issue 5
December
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
Regular Paper
  • Mutsuko KOIZUMI, Nobuo NISHIMURA, Tomonori ENAMI, Masao SUNAGA, Hirona ...
    Article type: Regular Paper
    Subject area: Toxicity testing
    2002 Volume 27 Issue 5 Pages 411-421
    Published: 2002
    Released on J-STAGE: January 31, 2003
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Repeated dose toxicity of 3-aminophenol was examined on oral administration to newborn and young rats, and susceptibility was analyzed in terms of the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) and the unequivocally toxic level. In the 18-day newborn rat study, starting at day 4 after birth, tremors and depression of body weight gain were observed, as well as hypertrophy of thyroid follicular epithelial cells and increases of relative liver and kidney weights at 240 mg/kg. Increase of relative liver weights in males and decrease of blood sugar in females without any histopathological changes at 80 mg/kg were not considered to be adverse effects. No chemical-related changes were observed at 24 mg/kg. Abnormalities of external development and reflex ontogeny in the newborn were not observed. In the 28-day study, starting at 5 weeks of age, depression of body weight gain, tremors, anemia, and liver, kidney and thyroid toxicity were observed at 720 mg/kg. Although slight pigmentation in the renal proximal tubular epithelium was observed in females at 240 mg/kg, this was not considered to be an adverse effect because of the lack of changes in related toxicological parameters. It was concluded that the NOAEL is 80 mg/kg/day in newborn rats and 240 mg/kg/day in young rats, with unequivocally toxic levels of 240 mg/kg/day and 720 mg/kg/day, respectively. Based on these two endpoints, the susceptibility of newborn rats to the chemical was approx. 3 times higher than that of young rats, consistent with our previous results for 4-nitrophenol and 2,4-dinitrophenol.
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  • Yoshitaka HIGA, Atsushi OHKUBO, Shunichi KITAJIMA, Matuko MORIYASU, Ki ...
    Article type: Regular Paper
    Subject area: Other organs
    2002 Volume 27 Issue 5 Pages 423-431
    Published: 2002
    Released on J-STAGE: January 31, 2003
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The effects of kojic acid (KA) on thyroidal function were studied by single-dose administration in rats and in cultured rat thyroid cells (FRTL-5 cells). In rats receiving a single dose of 1,000 mg/kg KA orally, the 125I uptake from blood into the thyroid gland was significantly lower than that of the control group from 30 min to 24 hr after administration. The 125I organification activity of the KA groups was significantly lower than control from 30 min to 6 hr after administration. However, the 125I organification activity at 24 hr or 48 hr after administration recovered enough to be nearly comparable with the control group. In the study in FRTL-5 cells, KA inhibited iodine organification dose-dependently, but did not inhibit iodine uptake. These results suggest that the observed lower iodine uptake activity in the single-dose administration study in rats was due to the inhibition of iodine organification caused by the oral administration of KA, consequently decreasing iodine in the entire thyroid gland. Although serum T4 showed a tendency to decrease from 2 hr to 48 hr after administration of KA, serum TSH did not show any evident change associated with KA in the single-dose administration study in rats. Based on these results, it is presumed that a massive dose or long administration period might be needed to decrease serum T4 and increase serum TSH. From these results, it is presumed that KA affected thyroidal function when given at a massive dose or in a long administration period by inhibiting iodine organification in the thyroid.
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  • Hiroko YOSHINO, Toshio ICHIHARA, Mayumi KAWABE, Norio IMAI, Akihiro HA ...
    Article type: Regular Paper
    Subject area: Reproductive toxicity
    2002 Volume 27 Issue 5 Pages 433-439
    Published: 2002
    Released on J-STAGE: January 31, 2003
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Bisphenol A (BPA), a compound of great concern as an estrogenic xenobiotic, was assessed for its ability to cause alteration in the accessory sex organs and spermatogenesis in male offspring exposed preneonatally and neonatally. In a series of experiments focusing on rat sensitivity to gestational and lactational exposure to BPA, we investigated its effects on gestation period and reproductive organs in male offspring. In the first instance, BPA was administered to F344 female rats by gavage at 0, 7.5, 120 mg/kg/day during pregnancy and lactation period. There were no observable adverse effects in pregnant rats and the treatment did not induce any morphological abnormalities in the accessory sex organs of male offspring. However, lowered numbers of sperm in the testis were found with a dose of 120 mg/kg/day. In the second study, the same protocol with a higher number of male offspring was applied, but no reduction in the sperm count was apparent. We conclude that transplacental and lactational exposure to BPA dose not exert any adverse effects on morphogenesis of rat accessory sex organs or spermatogenesis.
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  • Eiki SATOH, Toshiaki ISHII, Yoshio SHIMIZU, Shin-ichi SAWAMURA, Masaka ...
    Article type: Regular Paper
    Subject area: Toxins
    2002 Volume 27 Issue 5 Pages 441-447
    Published: 2002
    Released on J-STAGE: January 31, 2003
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The aim of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism of the protective effect of black tea extract's thearubigin fraction against the action of tetanus toxin. The effects of thearubigin fraction extracted from a black tea infusion were examined for neuromuscular blocking action on tetanus toxin in mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparations and on the binding of this toxin to the synaptosomal membrane preparations of rat cerebral cortices. The interaction between tetanus toxin and thearubigin fraction was also investigated. Tetanus toxin (4 μg/ml) abolished indirect twitches in mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparations within 150 min. Thearubigin fraction mixed with tetanus toxin blocked the inhibitory effect of the toxin. Mixing iodinated toxin with thearubigin fraction inhibited the specific binding of [125I]tetanus toxin to the synaptosomal membrane preparation. The effects of thearubigin fraction were dose-dependent. The elution profile of [125I]tetanus toxin on Sephadex G-50 column chromatography was different from that of toxin mixed with thearubigin fraction. These findings indicate that thearubigin fraction protects against the action of tetanus toxin by binding with the toxin.
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  • Abraham NYSKA, Susan D. HESTER, Ralph L. COOPER, Jerome M. GOLDMAN, Ta ...
    Article type: Regular Paper
    Subject area: Behavior toxicity/dependence
    2002 Volume 27 Issue 5 Pages 449-457
    Published: 2002
    Released on J-STAGE: January 31, 2003
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    A significant negative correlation between testicular interstitial cell tumors and pituitary tumors in control male F344 rats has been reported associated with the number of animals per cage. Change in numbers of animals per cage may cause stress and increased serum corticosteroids that can impair testosterone synthesis by interstitial cells. Eventual atrophy of interstitial cells may result in pituitary hyperfunction and tumor development. For relevant risk assessments, understanding the effect husbandry has on cellular processes is necessary. Twenty-four 6-week-old male F344 rats were housed individually, as pairs, or as trios for 13 weeks. Measured parameters included feed consumption, body and organ weights, hemograms, hormonal levels, histopathology, and cellular kinetics in the pituitary and testicle. Several caging-related differences occurred, that, although not statistically different, could be biologically significant; these included increased serum levels of estradiol, progesterone, and corticosterone; increased spermatogonial proliferation; decreased apoptosis within seminiferous tubules; and increased BrdU immunoreactivity of the interstitial cells. The statistically significant decrease in lymphocyte numbers correlated with the associated increase in corticosterone levels. This study indicates that the number of animals in a cage is associated with hormonal and cellular kinetic changes in the pituitary and testes, which could influence the incidence of tumors in these organs.
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