Toxic effects in rats of twelve weeks' dosing of 2-propanol, and neurotoxicity measured by densitometric measurements of glial fibrillary acidic protein in the dorsal hippocampus

The toxicological and neurotoxicological effects of 2-propanol were investigated in a 12-week study in male rats. 2-propanol was administered in drinking water in concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 5% (w/v). Autopsy and histopathological examinations of liver, heart, spleen, testes, kidneys and adrenals were performed. The content of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was measured semiquantitatively by a densitometric method applied to immunohistochemically stained sections from the dorsal hippocampus. The relative organ weights of liver, kidneys and adrenals were statistically significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. No histopathological alterations could be attributed to the dosing, apart from a dose-dependent increase in formation of hyaline casts and droplets in the proximal tubules of the kidneys. 2-propanol does not seem to cause astrogliosis after 12 weeks of dosing.