Plasma protein changes in rats treated with hypolipidaemic drugs and with phthalate esters.

Treatment of rats with hypolipidaemic drugs or with the plasticizer di-2-ethyl hexyl phthalate caused significant alterations in the concentration of certain plasma proteins. Certain proteins showed dose-dependent increases, in other cases the plasma concentrations fell in treated animals. The changes were quite distinct from the changes in plasma proteins which occur during the acute-phase response to inflammatory agents. Some changes appeared specific to agents which produce peroxisome proliferation in liver, other alterations appeared associated with mild, but sustained, liver injury.