Hepatic and renal metallothionein induction following single oral administration of gallium arsenide in rats

Metallothionein genes (MT) are inducible by a variety of agents, including heavy metals. We report the induction of MT expression by gallium arsenide (GaAs), a superior intermetallic semiconductor material at two time intervals following single oral exposure in rats. The data is also supplemented with two additional groups exposed to gallium (III) as gallium oxide and arsenic (III) as sodium arsenite to determine which of the two moieties in GaAs is responsible for any such possible effects. The results indicate that GaAs administration does significantly induces MT in hepatic tissues accompanied by an increase in cytosolic glutathione, arsenic, zinc and copper concentration. It thus proves that arsenic moiety is chiefly responsible for such an effect.