title: Acute, but not Chronic, Exposure to Arsenic Provokes Glucose Intolerance in Rats: Possible Roles for Oxidative Stress and the Adrenergic Pathway.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Health problems due to heavy metals have become a worldwide concern. Along with its carcinogenicity, arsenic exposure results in impairment of glucose metabolism and insulin secretion as well as altered gene expression and signal transduction. However, the exact mechanism behind the behaviour of arsenic on glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion has not yet been fully understood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fasting blood sugar and glucose tolerance tests were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study, we demonstrated that arsenic, when acutely administered, induced glucose intolerance in rats, although its chronic oral exposure did not provoke any glucose intolerance or hyperglycemia in rats. The protective activity of N-acetylcysteine, carvedilol and propranolol in male rats exposed to arsenic were also assessed, and N-acetylcysteine, particularly at 40 and 80 mg/kg, prevented the glucose intolerance induced in rats by arsenic.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study showed that acute, but not chronic, contact with arsenic generates significant changes in the normal glucose tolerance pattern that may be due fundamentally to overproduction of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress and is preventable by using N-acetylcysteine, a thiol-containing antioxidant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: rezaei.mohsen@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rezaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammd Javad
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Khodayar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Enayatollah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seydi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Alboghobeish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soheila
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Isa Kazemzadeh
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Parsi
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D018663:Adrenergic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018663:Adrenergic Agents; D001786:Blood Glucose; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D005947:Glucose; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: N-acetylcysteine; N-acétylcystéine; arsenic; carvedilol; carvédilol; diabetes; diabète; espèces réactives de l'oxygène; propranolol; reactive oxygen species