Development of the cytosolic defence system against microsomal lipid peroxidation in rat liver

Bromosulfophthalein abolishes glutathione-dependent protection against lipid peroxidation in rat liver mitochondria

The effect of bromosulfophthalein (BSP) on GSH-dependent protection against lipid peroxidation in rat liver mitochondria was examined. Mitochondrial lipid peroxidation induced by ascorbate-Fe2+ was prevented by GSH, and addition of BSP abolished the protective effect of GSH. The effect of BSP was apparently not due to causing disappearance of GSH from the reaction mixture by interacting directly with GSH. BSP strongly inhibited the mitochondrial GSH S-transferase activity rather than the GSH peroxidase activity. Ascorbate-Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation in mitochondria without addition of GSH was also stimulated to some extent by BSP, and the stimulation seems likely to be due to abolition of the inhibitory effect of endogenous GSH. GSH could not be replaced as an inhibitor of lipid peroxidation by cysteine, beta-mercaptoethanol, or dithiothreitol. The inhibitory effect of GSH on lipid peroxidation was not observed in vitamin E-deficient mitochondria. No inhibitory effect of exogenous vitamin E was demonstrated either in vitamin E-deficient mitochondria or in vitamin E-sufficient mitochondria in the presence of BSP, whether GSH was added or not. These results indicate that a mitochondrial GSH-dependent factor which inhibits lipid peroxidation requires vitamin E to exert its function. It is suggested that mitochondrial GSH S-transferase(s) may be responsible for GSH-dependent inhibition of lipid peroxidation in mitochondria, probably by scavenging lipid radicals.

Lipid peroxidation and mechanisms of toxicity

Aerobic organisms by definition require oxygen, and the importance of iron in aerobic respiration has long been recognized, but despite their beneficial roles, these elements can pose a real threat to the organism. During oxygen reduction, reactive species such as O2-. and H2O2 are formed readily. Iron can combine with these species, or with molecular oxygen itself, to generate free radicals which will attack the polyunsaturated fatty acids of membrane lipids. This oxidative deterioration of membrane lipids is known as lipid peroxidation. To protect itself against this form of attack, the organism possesses several types of defense mechanisms. Under normal conditions, these defenses appear to offer adequate protection for cell membranes, but the possibility exists that certain foreign compounds may interfere with or even overwhelm these defenses, and herein could lie a general mechanism of toxicity. This possible cause of toxicity is discussed in relation to other suggested causes.