The presence of persistent organic pollutants, including the pesticide toxaphene, has been reported even in remote regions such as the Arctic and is becoming a health concern. The technical mixture of toxaphene contains over 800 different congeners; however, the numbers decrease along the food chain. Only two major congeners, 2-exo, 3-endo, 5-exo, 6-endo,8,8,9,10,10-octachlorobomane (T2) and 2-exo, 3-endo, 5-exo, 6-endo,8,8,9,10,10-nonachlorobomane (T12) have been found in humans. Information on the embryotoxicity of toxaphene is based only on studies using the toxaphene technical mixture and not its major congeners. Diabetes mellitus, one of the most common maternal illness resulting in congenital defects, is now on an upgrowth trend in many native communities. Xenobiotics, such as toxaphene, may induce interactive effects with hyperglycemia, a teratogenic metabolic agent. / In the present study, the relative dysmorphogenic effects of the toxaphene technical mixture or its congeners (T2 and T12) and the interactive effects of these compounds and high glucose concentrations were investigated using rat embryo culture. Early stage embryos (0--2 somite) were treated with three different doses of the toxaphene technical mixture, T2, T12, or 50:50 mixture of T2 and T12 and incubated in normal or hyperglycemic culture media for 48 h. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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