title: Toxicity of trimethyltin and dimethyltin in rats and mice.
abstract: Extensive uses of methyltin compounds in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production have led to a dramatic increase of occupational-related methyltin poisoning accidents and the widespread contamination of methyltins in various environmental media. Here, we conducted studies to compare the acute toxicity induced by trimethyltin (TMT) and dimethyltin (DMT), and investigated the cumulative toxic effects of TMT in rats and mice. Neurobehavioral changes were observed in rats and mice treated with either DMT or TMT, but we also observed that both TMT and DMT exposure in rats significantly lowered the blood potassium level. Moreover, the cumulative toxic coefficient factor of TMT was 1.7 in rats versus 3.8 in mice, suggesting a high cumulative risk for rats and a moderate risk for mice. In summary, we demonstrated that acute and chronic exposure to methyltin compounds induced neurotoxicity and hypokalemia. Moreover, our study suggests that TMT can accumulate in the body and pose a risk for workers chronically exposed to a low dose of TMT.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Medical Laboratory Animal Center, Foshan 528248, Guangdong, China. river-t@163.com
authors.forename: Xiaojiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Amber M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Banghua
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Guanchao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Shenglai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Zhongning
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D007008:Hypokalemia / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes; D009947:Organotin Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014298:Trimethyltin Compounds / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D009947:Organotin Compounds; D014298:Trimethyltin Compounds; C046488:trimethyltin; C036564:methyltin