Goitre and wasting induced in hamsters by hexachlorobenzene

Male Syrian hamsters were treated with hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in their diet at levels of 100 ppm for 28 weeks, 200 ppm for 18 and 28 weeks, and 500 ppm for 6 weeks. All treatments caused at least a 2.5- to 3-fold increase in thyroid size, mainly by enlargement of some follicles. Serum thyroxine (T4) levels were unchanged, whereas levels of triiodothyronine (T3) eventually became depressed by greater than 60%. Uptake of 131I into thyroids was induced approximately 3-fold when estimated after feeding HCB (500 ppm) for 3 or 6 weeks. Hamsters also lost weight by depletion of adipose tissue, leading to 50% mortality in longer experiments. Results were distinct from the effects of the known antithyroid agent 3-aminotriazole or amitrole (200 ppm for 28 weeks), which did not affect survival and although causing thyroid enlargement depressed serum T4 and significantly elevated T3. The effects of HCB in hamsters were also different from those in rats (500 ppm HCB for 6 weeks) in which there was only a small increase in thyroid size (1.3-fold), serum levels of T3 were only slightly depressed but T4 levels were reduced by 74%. These studies are discussed with reference to the effects of other polyhalogenated aromatic chemicals on the thyroid, serum thyroid hormone levels and lethality.