The effect of some carbonyl compounds on rat liver glutathione levels

Cumene hydroperoxide-mediated lipid peroxidation in rat alveolar macrophages following induction of phospholipidosis with chlorphentermine

Rats were treated for 4 weeks with chlorphentermine hydrochloride (30 mg/kg, i.p., 5 days/seek), a regimen which causes a profound phospholipidosis in the alveolar macrophages (AMs). The susceptibility of these lipid-laden cells to lipid peroxidation was examined and compared to AMs from control (untreated) rats. Lipid peroxidation was induced in cells in vitro by incubation with cumene hydroperoxide (10(-5) M--10(-3) M). A dose dependent increase in malonyl dialdehyde (MDA) formation was observed with both populations of AMs. Two to three times more MDA was found in lipidotic AMs than controls at the higher dose of cumene hydroperoxide. Under these conditions, less loss of cellular viability resulted with the lipidotic AMs than controls. The partial depletion of reduced glutathione in the cells led to an even greater MDA formation by both cell-types with the lipidotic AMs being more markedly affected. Both populations of AMs experienced a greater loss of viability associated with loss of reduced glutathione with the control AMs showing more toxicity than the lipidotic cells. Therefore, while the induction of phospholipidosis renders AMs more suspectible to lipid peroxidation, they show less of a loss in cellular viability than control cells. The previously reported augmentation in the antioxidant defense mechanisms in the lipidotic cells may be partially responsible for these results.

High concentrations of glutathione in glandular stomach: possible implications for carcinogenesis

In laboratory rodents, concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) are exceedingly high (up to 7 to 8 millimolar) in the glandular gastric tissue compared to concentrations in other portions of the gastrointestinal tract or to those of most other organs. Gastric GSH varies diurnally, with the highest levels occurring in the late afternoon or early evening. Starvation, treatment with diethyl maleate, or cold-restraint stress all caused marked decreases in stomach GSH, whereas treatment with cobaltous chloride caused an increase in the GSH concentrations. The physiological significance of the high gastric GSH is unknown, but because this endogenous compound may strongly modulate (decrease or increase) the macromolecular binding of certain chemicals capable of inducing stomach tumors, the possible role of glutathione in the pathogenesis of chemically induced gastric cancer should be considered.

Effects of various in vitro--inhibitors of benzo(a)pyrene metabolism in isolated rat lung perfusion

Various in vitro-inhibitors were added with 3H-benzo(a)pyrene (BP) into the perfusion fluids in isolated rat lung perfusions to see whether their effects are dependent on the integrity of tissue. 3H-BP and its metabolites were measured by thin-layer chromatography and radiometry from both samples of perfusion medium and homogenates of lung tissue. The total covalent binding to lung tissue was used as a measure of the formation of reactive metabolites. In methylcholanthrene-induced rat lung, the metabolism of BP was inhibited by alpha-naphthoflavone, an inhibitor of monooxygenase, and less with diethylmaleate, a depletor of glutathione, with salicylamide, an inhibitor of conjugases, and, astonishingly, with D-saccharo-1,4-lactone, an inhibitor of beta-glucuronidase. With trichloropropene oxide, which inhibits epoxide hydratase, the metabolism was either decreased or unchanged. Nicotine had no effect on BP-metabolism. Nicotine and diethylmaleate increased statistically significantly and alpha-naphthoflavone and salicylamide decreased the covalent binding of radioactivity to lung tissue. In most cases, the changes in BP metabolism observed during perfusion can be explained on the basis of effects of modifiers on the enzyme systems.

Glutathione depletion in isolated hepatocytes: its relation to lipid peroxidation and cell damage

The effects of glutathione depletion in isolated hepatocytes have been studied. A list of compounds which depleted glutathione and induced lipid peroxidation and cell lysis is given. The effects of halogenated acetamides were studied in more detail and results of studies on the interaction of iodoacetamide with cellular constituents are presented. A single metabolite of iodoacetamide, tentatively identified as the glutathione conjugate, was excreted from the cells while less than one percent of the "parent compound" was retained, tightly bound to macromolecules. This bound component could not be associated with the cellular damage. Methionine, cysteine and alpha-tocopherol, as wellas paracetamol and ethylmorphine, were found to prevent lipid peroxidation and lysis. It is concluded that GSH deficiency per se can lead to lipid peroxidation and that this reaction caused the observed hepatocellular lysis.

Role of liver glutathione in 1,1-dichloroethylene metabolism and hepatotoxicity in intact rats and isolated perfused rat liver

The liver glutathione content was measured after oral administration of 1,1-dichloroethylene (vinylidene chloride = VDC; dissolved in olive oil) and its significance for the metabolism and hepatotoxicity of VDC was investigated. After treatment with 1000 mg/kg VDC p.o., glutathione decreased to 33% of the control values within 4 h but returned to the control level after 24 h. An identical fall in glutathione after VDC administration was found to occur in animals which had been fasted for 18 h. In these animals the baseline values of glutathione were lowered by 21%. The depletion of glutathione was dependent on the dosage of VDC. The conversion rate of VDC by the isolated perfused livers was 7.64 mumoles/g liver after 3 h-perfusion, if 5000 ppm of VDC were supplied in the gas phase. Lowering the glutathione content to 15% of the normal value (by diethylmaleate, 25 mumoles added directly to the perfusate) resulted in a reduction of VDC conversion by 18%. Furthermore the viability (with the lactate/pyruvate ratio serving as the parameter) of the liver was distinctly depresesd. No effect on viability nor on metabolization rate was noted when perfusing the livers of 18-h fasted animals. The concentrations of the glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) in the perfusate failed to show an increase. These findings indicate that there is no correlation between the liver glutathione level and the increased lethality of VDC in fasted rats.

Synergistic effects of phorone on the hepatotoxicity of bromobenzene and paracetamol in mice

Administration of phorone (diisopropylidene acetone), an industrial solvent, to mice caused a rapid depletion of hepatic glutathione, which is due to enzymatic conjugation of phorone with glutathione, mediated by cytoplasmic enzymes of the liver. Whereas phorone, even in high doses, did not show hepatotoxic effects by itself, combined administration of phorone with a subtoxic dose of either paracetamol or bromobenzene strongly enhanced hepatotoxicity of the latter compounds as was judged from a rise in serum transaminase activities. These findings are compatible with the concept of a dose threshold for biologically reactive intermediate compounds which are bioinactivated through glutathione conjugation.

Short-term toxicity of allyl alcohol in rats

Groups of 15 male and 15 female rats were give 0 (control), 50, 100, 200 or 800 ppm allyl alcohol in the drinking water for 15 weeks. There were no effects attributable to allyl alcohol in the results of the haematological examinations or analyses of serum. There was a dose-related reduction in the fluid intake at all treatment levels in both sexes, while growth and food consumption were reduced in both sexes given 800 ppm and in males give 200 ppm. Males given 100 ppm or above and females given 200 or 800 ppm produced less urine than the controls in a period without water or following a water load. The only changes in organ weight that could be attributed to treatment were increased values for the relative weights of liver, spleen and kidney. All 3 organs were affected in both sexes given 800 ppm and the kidneys were also affected in both sexes given 200 ppm and in females given 100 ppm. No effects attributable to allyl alcohol treatment were seen at autopsy or in the histopathological examination. The no-untoward-effect level established in this study was 50 ppm of the drinking water, a level equivalent to an intake in rats of between 4.8 and 6.2 mg allyl alcohol/kg/day.

Excretion of methyl mercury in rat bile: the effect of diethylmaleate, cyclohexene oxide and acrylamide

Diethylmaleate, cyclohexene oxide and acrylamide administered intraperitoneally to rats, have been shown markedly to inhibit biliary excretion of methyl mercury. Simultaneously the sulphhydryl and sulphide content of the bile decreases. These results probably reflect the conjugation of acrylamide, diethylmaleate and cyclohexene oxide to glutathione in the liver, thereby blocking the biliary excretion of methyl mercury. A high concentration of liver glutathione seems to be a prerequisite for the normal translocation of methyl mercury from liver to bile. These results indicate that methyl mercury is transported from liver to bile as a glutathione complex.

Metals as regulators of heme metabolism

Heme is essential for cell respiration, energy generation, and oxidative biotransformations. The latter function is exemplified by the oxidative metabolism of various endogenous and exogenous chemicals catalyzed by the heme protein cytochrome P-450. Recent studies have established that metal ions directly regulate cellular content of heme, and thus of heme proteins by controlling production of delta-aminolevulinate synthetase and heme oxygenase, the rate-limiting enzymes for heme synthesis and degradation, respectively. Metal ions also alter cellular content of glutathione. In excess amounts, metal ions greatly accelerate the turnover and degradation of heme and substantially impair the oxidative functions of cells--particularly those dependent on cytochrone P-450. As a result, the biological impact of chemicals which are detoxified or metabolically transformed by the P-450 system is greatly altered.

A correlation between glutathione levels and cellular damage in isolated hepatocytes

To obtain high levels of glutathione in isolated hepatocytes an isolation procedure shorter than 16 min was used. This procedure gave a moderately high yield of viable cells (200--300 X 10(6) cells/10 g liver) with 44 +/- 3 nmol of glutathione/10(6) cells. Incubation in Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 2% albumin resulted in a continuous loss of reduced glutathione from the cells, while incubation in a medium containing amino acids and horse serum resulted in increased levels, suggesting active synthesis for 5 h. A short and apparently harmless depletion of reduced glutathione was induced by diethylmaleate or cumene hydroperoxide. A depletion of reduced glutathione lasting more than 1 h was accompanied by an increased cellular leakage. The depletion was induced by either diethylmaleate plus paracetamol or diethylmaleate alone in higher concentrations. A common mechanism for these toxic responses is suggested.

Studies on the mechanism of induction of haem oxygenase by cobalt and other metal ions

Cobalt ions (Co2+) are potent inducers of haem oxygenase in liver and inhibit microsomal drug oxidation probably by depleting microsomal haem and cytochrome P-450. Complexing of Co2+ ions with cysteine or glutathione (GSH) blocked ability of the former to induce haem oxygenase. When hepatic GSH content was depleted by treatment of animals with diethyl maleate, the inducing effect of Co2+ on haem oxygenase was significantly augmented. Other metal ions such as Cr2+, Mn2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Hg2+ and Pb2+ were also capable of inducing haem oxygenase and depleting microsomal haem and cytochrome P-450. None of these metal ions had a stimulatory effect on hepatic haem oxidation activity in vitro. It is suggested that the inducing action of Co2+ and other metal ions on microsomal haem oxygenase involves either the covalent binding of the metal ions to some cellular component concerned directly with regulating haem oxygenase or non-specific complex-formation by the metal ions, which depletes some regulatory system in liver cells of an essential component involved in controlling synthesis or activity of the enzyme.

Lipid peroxidation in isolated hepatocytes

Intracellular lipid peroxidation was initiated by the addition of ADP-complexed ferric iron to isolated rat hepatocytes and the reaction monitored by the thiobarbituric acid method or by measurement of the formation of conjugated dienes. Both the production of malondialdehyde (thiobarbituric-acid-reacting substances) and of conjugated dienes was dependent, on the ADP-Fe-3+ concentration in a dose-related fashion. Malondialdehyde formation stopped spontaneously within 20 min after the initiation of the reaction and the plateau reached was also related to the ADP-Fe-3+ concentration. Control experiments revealed that more than 90% of the malondialdehyde accumulating during the incubation period could be ascribed to intracellular production. The cellular NADPH/NADP+ ratio was always high and only slightly decreased upon ADP-Fe-3+-induced lipid peroxidation which, however, was associated with a marked decrease in the cellular glutathione concentration. The rate of accumulation of malondialdehyde as well as the final level reached during ADP-Fe-3+-initiated lipid peroxidation was increased by the addition of chloral hydrate. This apparent stimulatory effect could, however, be ascribed to the inhibition of the mitochondrial oxidation of the malondialdehyde formed during cellular lipid peroxidation, thus allowing more malondialdehyde to accumulate during the process. ADP-Fe-3+-induced cellular lipid peroxidation was associated with a decrease in the concentration of glutathione. Also, lowering of the intracellular glutathione level by the addition of diethyl maleate or by simply preincubating the hepatocytes (up to 50 min) promoted the ADP-Fe-3+ malondialdehyde production and formation of conjugated dienes. Furthermore, when cellular glutathione concentration had been lowered by preincubation of the hepatocytes, significant malondialdehyde production could be observed even at ADP-Fe-3+ concentrations which were too low to induce measurable lipid peroxidation in fresh hepatocytes. It is thus concluded that glutathione has an important role in the cell defence against lipid peroxidation and suggested that the isolated hepatocytes provide a suitable experimental model system for the characterization of this and other possible cellular defence mechanisms and how they are affected by the nutritional status of the donor animal.

Short-term inhalation toxicity of halogenated hydrocarbons: effects on fasting rats

Male rats, fasted overnight (18 hours), and exposed to various materials in inhalation were more sensitive to the hepatotoxic effects of carbon tetrachloride, 2-chlorobutadiene, 1,1-dibromoethylene, and 1,1-dichloroethylene (DCE). Vinyl chloride monomer and 1,1-difluoroethylene were not acutely hepatotoxic in fed or fasted rats at any concentration tested. Vinyl chloride monomer when administered simultaneously with DCE prevented the injury associated with DCE inhalation in fasted rats. This prevention of injury may be a result of a competitive interaction since the effect was concentration dependent.