Low Doses of a PCB (Aroclor 1254) Affect the Body Weight by Decreasing the Activity of Glucose-6-Phosphatase in the Liver and Kidney Cells of Mice

In this communication, toxicity of very low doses of Aroclor 1254, the most potent PCB, was evaluated in respect to gross body weight and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity in liver and kidney cells of mice. The study was designed to test three hypotheses. Groups of adult male Swiss albino mice were subjected to two very low and environmentally available doses (0.1 & 1 mg/kg bw/d) of Aroclor 1254 exposed for three durations (4, 8 & 12 d). The toxicant was administered orally and the specific activity of glucose-6phosphatase was estimated from the liver and kidney cells of mice. The doses selected were significantly lower than the lethal dose but comparable to possible human exposure from different sources. The results revealed significant dose and exposure duration dependent effects of Aroclor on total body weight and the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase in liver and kidney cells of mice. The observed results suggested that all three hypotheses were true. It may be possible that the activation of AhR mediates the suppression of body weight and the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase, which suggested a role for these pollutants as disruptors of energy metabolism.