title: Hepatic injury and gluconeogenesis after subcutaneous injection of monochloroacetic acid in rats.
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.
authors: Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Osaka Medical College, 2-7 Daigakumachi, 569-8686, Takatsuki City, Osaka, Japan, hyg018@art.osaka-med.ac.jp.
authors: Yumi
authors: Y
authors: Toshina
authors: Tomotaro
authors: T
authors: Dote
authors: Kan
authors: K
authors: Usuda
authors: Hiroyasu
authors: H
authors: Shimizu
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Tominaga
authors: Koichi
authors: K
authors: Kono