Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Mar;9(2):58-62.
doi: 10.1007/BF02897933.

Hepatic injury and gluconeogenesis after subcutaneous injection of monochloroacetic acid in rats

Yumi Toshina  1 , Tomotaro Dote, Kan Usuda, Hiroyasu Shimizu, Mika Tominaga, Koichi Kono
Affiliations

Hepatic injury and gluconeogenesis after subcutaneous injection of monochloroacetic acid in rats

Yumi Toshina et al. Environ Health Prev Med. 2004 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Monochloroacetic acid (MCA) is corrosive to skin, and causes not only chemical injury but also fatal systemic poisoning. Little is known about the cause of death. We studied the acute toxicity of MCA before clinical symptoms appeared in fasting rats.

Methods: Blood samples were analyzed 2 h after subcutaneous MCA injection (Ld(90): 162 mg/ml kg body weight). Control rats were injected with saline.

Results: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were about 1.5-fold higher than in the controls, and mitochondrial AST (mAST) was 2-fold higher. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine were significantly increased, while serum glucose was significantly decreased in the treated group. Lactate was 6-fold higher and pyruvate was 13-fold higher than in the controls.

Conclusions: MCA caused injury to the liver and kidneys but these injuries were slight. However, the larger increase in mAST indicated that hepatocellular mitochondria were selectively targeted. Hepatocellular mitochondrial injury decreased gluconeogenesis and caused hypoglycemia and extremely high levels of lactate and pyruvate. Hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis were insidious before the critical symptoms appeared and this combination accelerated to death, affecting other organs such as the heart and brain. Nosotropic therapy of these abnormalities up to the appearance of symptoms may help to establish an early therapy for skin exposure to MCA.

Keywords: acute lethal toxicity; chemical injury; hypoglycemia; lactic acidosis; monochloroacetic acid (MCA).

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. None
    2. Fassett DW. Organic acid, anhydrides, lactones, acid halides, amides, and thioacids. In: Battigelli MC, Clayton FE, Clayton GD, Patty FA, editors. Patty’s industrial hygiene and toxicology: general principles. 2nd Rev. Ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978;1771–1845.
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1016/0300-483X(91)90141-M', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1016/0300-483x(91)90141-m'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '2031251', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2031251/'}]}
    2. Daniel FB, Robinson M, Stober JA, Page NP, Olson GR. Ninety-day toxicity study of sodium monochloroacetate in Spraque-Dawley rats. Toxicology 1991;67:171–185. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '1542885', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1542885/'}]}
    2. Kaphalia BS, Bhat HK, Khan MF, Ansari GA. Tissue distribution of monochloroacetic acid and its binding to albumin in rats. Toxicol. Ind. Health 1992;8:53–61. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '1433433', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1433433/'}]}
    2. Kulling P, Andersson H, Bostrom K, Johansson LA, Lindstrom B, Nystrom B. Fatal systemic poisoning after skin exposure to monochloroacetic acid. J. Toxicol. Clin. Toxicol. 1992;30:643–652. - PubMed
    1. None
    2. Rycroft RJG. Occupational dermatoses. In: Champion RH, Breathnach SM, Burns DA, Burton JL, Ebling FJG, Rook A, Wilkinson DS editors. Textbook of dermatology. 6th ed. London: Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1998; 861–881.