Serum levels of TCDD and dioxin-like chemicals in Rhesus monkeys chronically exposed to dioxin: correlation of increased serum PCB levels with endometriosis

Rier SE, S. E. Rier, Sherry E. Rier, W E Turner, Turner WE, D C Martin, Dan C. Martin, Morris R, R Morris, Lucier GW, G W Lucier, Clark GC, G C Clark
Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2001 · vol. 59(1) , pp. 147–159 · doi:10.1093/toxsci/59.1.147 · PMID:11134554 · W2144902034
Lab / animal OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 60 in-corpus citations
📄 Open PDF View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study found that rhesus monkeys chronically exposed to TCDD exhibited elevated serum levels of TCDD and dioxin-like PCBs 13 years later, with higher PCB concentrations correlating with the prevalence and severity of endometriosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Humans and animals are exposed daily to a complex mixture of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs). Previous work has shown that exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is associated with a dose-dependent increase in the incidence and severity of endometriosis in the rhesus monkey. Dioxin-like chemicals can also exert effects in combination with TCDD via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. This study demonstrates that the serum levels of TCDD and specific dioxin-like PHAH congeners were increased in TCDD-treated animals with endometriosis 13 years after the TCDD exposure. Nine TCDD-exposed and 6 unexposed female rhesus monkeys were evaluated for serum content of relevant compounds and for endometriosis by surgical laparoscopy. Additional studies were done on 4 animals that died 7 to 11 years after exposure to TCDD and 4 lead-treated animals with no history of PHAH treatment. For TCDD-exposed and unexposed animals, TCDD exposure correlated with an increased serum TCDD concentration. Furthermore, TCDD exposure and an elevated serum TCDD concentration were associated with increased serum levels of triglycerides, 1,2,3,6,7,8-hexachlorodibenzofuran, 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB) and 3,3'4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PnCB). Importantly, the animals with elevated serum levels of 3,3',4,4'-TCB, 3,3',4,4',5-PnCB and an increased total serum TEQ had a high prevalence of endometriosis, and the severity of disease correlated with the serum concentration of 3,3,',4,4'-TCB. Increased serum concentrations of coplanar PCBs were also present in lead-treated animals. Implications of these findings for human health and the prevalence of endometriosis in humans will be discussed.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Dioxins Endometriosis Environmental Pollutants Macaca mulatta Macaca mulatta Polychlorinated Biphenyls Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins Animals Animals Dioxins Dioxins Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Environmental Pollutants Environmental Pollutants Female Female

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (60)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-10-10T06:11:15.153948+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T20:59:46.244316+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK