THE EFFECTS OF ACUTE AND SUB-ACUTE SODIUM ARSENITE ADMINISTRATION ON CARBOHYDRATE-METABOLISM

Abstract

The effects of acute and subacute trivalent arsenic (As) administration on blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance and mitochondrial respiration were studied in male rats injected with sodium arsenite at 0, 5, or 10 mg/kg body wt and killed after 1.5 or 3 h or 7 days. Hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance were observed in rats which received single acute doses of As. Hyperglycemia, but not glucose intolerance, was abolished, in As-treated adrenalectomized animals. No measurable changes in hepatic mitochondrial respiratory function were noted in animals killed at 1.5 or 3 h following As administration. Animals injected with 10 mg As/kg for 7 days showed hyperglycemia and marked glucose intolerance at 24 h after the last injection. Mild depression of pyruvate/malate mediated state 3 mitochondrial respiration and decreased respiratory control ratios were observed for hepatic mitochondria isolated from arsenite injected rats in comparison with controls at this time point. Arsenical disturbance of in vivo carbohydrate metabolism is evidently a complex phenomenon which involves a number of organ systems and their functional interrelationships.