Effects of fasting and 3,3',4,4',5,5'-hexabromobiphenyl on plasma transport of thyroxine and retinol: fasting reverses elevation of retinol.

Male Wistar rats were injected ip with 0 or 20 mg/kg 3,3',4,4',5,5'-hexabromobiphenyl and blood samples were collected 1, 3, 6, 7, and 8 d later. At 8 d after the injection, serum retinol was increased 30% and serum thyroxine was decreased 26% relative to control values. These effects were apparently unrelated to transthyretin in that the biphenyl did not alter the proportion of thyroxine binding in vitro to the prealbumin fraction of serum proteins. Separate groups of control and HBBP-injected rats did not receive food on d 7 (i.e., 24-h fast) and d 8 after injection (i.e., 48-h fast). Fasting decreased the serum retinol and thyroxine concentrations as well as the proportion of thyroxine binding in vitro to the prealbumin fraction of serum. The decreases in retinol and thyroxine concentrations associated with fasting are therefore ascribed to a decrease in the concentration of transthyretin in circulation.