Plasma leptin and thyroxine of mink (Mustela vison) vary with gender, diet and subchronic exposure to PCBs

Female minks (Mustela vison) fed diets based on freshwater, marine or mixed fish were exposed to 1 mg of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) a day for 21 weeks. The plasma leptin and thyroxine concentrations and the glucose-6-phosphatase and glycogen phophorylase activities in the liver were measured at the end of the experiment. The plasma thyroxine concentrations were significantly higher in the group exposed to PCBs. The mean plasma leptin concentration and glucose-6-phosphatase activity was the highest in the group that had the lowest body-mass index (BMI). The glycogen phophorylase activity was the highest in the freshwater fish-control group. The results suggest that the amount of fat in the body of the female minks is not the only determinant of the plasma leptin levels, but the leptin levels seem to rise with a lowered BMI unlike in rodents or humans. The positive correlation between the leptin levels and the glucose-6-phosphatase activity suggests increased gluconeogenesis with high leptin levels. Subchronic exposure to PCBs seems to have no effect on the plasma leptin levels or the glucose-6-phophatase activities, but it elevates significantly the plasma thyroxine levels with a mechanism that remains unknown.