title: Biochemical and immunotoxicological alterations following repeated gallium arsenide exposure and their recoveries by meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid and 2,3-dimercaptopropane 1-sulfonate administration in rats.
abstract: Efficacy of two analogues of British anti-lewisite (BAL), meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and 2,3-dimercaptopropane 1-suffonate (DMPS), in depleting arsenic and gallium concentration of blood and other soft tissues, in restoring altered blood, liver and renal biochemical variables and some immunlogical indices were investigated in male rats exposed to multiple doses of gallium arsenide (GaAs). The results indicate that exposure to gallium arsenide produced a significant inhibition of blood δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity, an increase in urinary ALA excretion and blood zinc protoporphyrin level. Blood glutathione (GSH) contents also decreased on GaAs exposure. No influence of GaAs however, on serum transminase activity or hepatic GSH contents was noticed, although, renal alkaline phosphatase activity decreased significantly on GaAs exposure. Further, a marked influence of GaAs administration on immunological variables like relative thymus and spleen weight, spleen cellularity, antibody forming cell (AFC) response to sheep RBC and delayed type of hypersensitivity (DTH) was observed. These data indicate that multiple exposure to GaAs may produce an adverse effect on the haematopoietic, renal and immune system. Further, post exposure treatment with two thiols, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid and sodium 2,3-dimercaptopropane 1-sulfonate (DMPS), DMPS proved more effective than DMSA in producing an effective reversal of altered immunological variables and reducing arsenic concentration of spleen, liver, kidney and blood. Biochemical variables, on the other hand, responded less favorably to the treatment of DMSA or DMPS except for a significant recovery in the activity of blood δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) following DMSA administration. The results suggest that DMPS could be an effective chelating drug for reversing most of the GaAs induced immunological alterations and reducing tissue arsenic burden.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Gwalior, India.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Flora
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar