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
. 2023 Jan 20;18(1):e0277689.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277689. eCollection 2023.

Biological effects related to exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) on cats

Affiliations

Biological effects related to exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) on cats

Kraisiri Khidkhan et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

As an animal familiar to humans, cats are considered to be sensitive to chemicals; cats may be exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) from indoor dust, household products, and common pet food, leading to adverse endocrine effects, such as thyroid hormone dysfunction. To elucidate the general biological effects resulting from exposure of cats to PCBs and PBDEs, cats were treated with a single i.p. dose of a principal mixture of 12 PCBs and observed for a short-term period. Results revealed that the testis weight, serum albumin, and total protein of the treated group decrease statistically in comparison with those in the control group. The negative correlations suggested that the decrease in the total protein and albumin levels may be disturbed by 4'OH-CB18, 3'OH-CB28 and 3OH-CB101. Meanwhile, the serum albumin level and relative brain weight decreased significantly for cats subjected to 1-year continuous oral administration of BDE-209 in comparison to those of control cats. In addition, the subcutaneous fat as well as serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides (TG) levels increased in cats treated with BDE-209 and down-regulation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase mRNA expression in the liver occurred. These results suggested that chronic BDE-209 treatment may restrain lipolysis in the liver, which is associated with lipogenesis in the subcutaneous fat. Evidence of liver and kidney cell damage was not observed as there was no significant difference in the liver enzymes, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels between the two groups of both experiments. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that provides information on the biochemical effects of organohalogen compounds in cats. Further investigations on risk assessment and other potential health effects of PCBs and PBDEs on the reproductive system, brain, and lipid metabolism in cats are required.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Time courses of body weight changes (mean ± SD) in time courses of the control (blue) and treatment (orange) groups for PCBs [A] and BDE-209 [B] (*: Significant differences between two groups, P < 0.05).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Time courses of the serum biochemical changes (mean ± SD) in time courses of the control (blue) and PCB treatment (orange) groups (*: Significant differences between two groups, P < 0.05).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Time course of the serum sex hormone levels (mean ± SD) in time courses of the control (blue) and PCB treatment (orange) groups.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Time courses of serum biochemical changes (mean ± SD) in time courses of the control (blue) and BDE-209 treatment (orange) groups (*: Significant differences between two groups, P < 0.05).
Fig 5
Fig 5. Time courses of serum BDE-209 and total PBDE levels (mean ± SD) in time courses of the BDE-209 treatment group.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Relative gene expressions (mean ± SD) in the liver of the control and BDE-209 treatment groups (reference genes: GAPDH [gray bar] and ACTB [white bar].
*: Significant differences between two groups, P < 0.05).

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Linares V, Bellés M, Domingo JL. Human exposure to PBDE and critical evaluation of health hazards. Arch Toxicol. 2015;89(3):335–56. Epub 2015/02/01. doi: 10.1007/s00204-015-1457-1 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Magliano DJ, Loh VHY, Harding JL, Botton J, Shaw JE. Persistent organic pollutants and diabetes: A review of the epidemiological evidence. Diabetes & Metabolism. 2014;40(1):1–14. doi: 10.1016/j.diabet.2013.09.006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abbasi NA, Malik RN, Frantz A, Jaspers VL. A review on current knowledge and future prospects of organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) in Asian birds. Sci Total Environ. 2016;542(Pt A):411–26. Epub 2015/11/02. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.088 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kaw HY, Kannan N. A Review on Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in South Asia with a Focus on Malaysia. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 2017;242:153–81. Epub 2016/11/04. doi: 10.1007/398_2016_14 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Letcher RJ, Bustnes JO, Dietz R, Jenssen BM, Jørgensen EH, Sonne C, et al.. Exposure and effects assessment of persistent organohalogen contaminants in arctic wildlife and fish. Sci Total Environ. 2010;408(15):2995–3043. Epub 2009/11/17. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.10.038 . - DOI - PubMed

Publication types