The role of pentachlorophenol in causing mitochondrial derangement in hexachlorobenzene induced experimental porphyria

Potential impact of the 2023 Lahaina wildfire on the marine environment: Modeling the transport of ash-laden benzo[a]pyrene and pentachlorophenol

The Lahaina urban/wildland fire event is considered the deadliest wildfire in the past century of U.S. history. This fire resulted in over 2200 building structures destroyed or damaged, approximately 4000 automobiles were incinerated and between 450 and 878 ha of grassland burned in areas adjoining the town of Lahaina, Maui County, State of Hawaii, U.S.A. One of the most abundant contaminants of both wildland and urban fires is the incomplete combustion product, benzo[a]pyrene. Pentachlorophenol from burned and unburned utility poles/residential burn sites enter into navigable waters, thus posing a serious risk to the water quality of coastal waters. The Risk Quotient Plumes for benzo[a]pyrene and pentachlorophenol, mobilized from Lahaina into coastal waters were calculated based on a hydrodynamic analysis and an integrated ecological risk assessment. This plume was simulated using rainfall events in November 2022 as a proxy for the first major rainfall event expected in Lahaina in 2024. The models indicated that the estimated levels of benzo[a]pyrene and pentachlorophenol posed a risk to near shore habitants within 2 km of Lahaina. The levels of pentachlorophenol were more widespread than benzo[a]pyrene and were predicted to pose a hazard to marine life as far away as Molokini Shoal Marine Life Conservation District and 'Āhihi-Kīna'u Natural Area Reserve. Fisheries species captured near these areas should be tested for consumption safety.

Lipid hydroperoxide induced mitochondrial dysfunction following acute ethanol intoxication in rats. The critical role for mitochondrial reduced glutathione

It has been found that acute ethanol (EtOH) intoxication of rats caused depletion of mitochondrial reduced glutathione (GSH) of approximately 40%. A GSH reduction of similar extent was also observed after the administration to rats of buthionine sulphoximine (BSO), a specific inhibitor of GSH synthesis. Combined treatment with BSO plus EtOH further decreased mitochondrial GSH up to 70% in comparison to control. Normal functional efficiency was encountered in BSO-treated mitochondria, as evaluated by membrane potential measurements during a complete cycle of phosphorylation. In contrast a partial loss of coupled functions occurred in mitochondria from EtOH- and BSO plus EtOH-treated rats. The presence in the incubation system of either GSH methyl monoester (GSH-EE), which normalizes GSH levels, or of EGTA, which chelates the available Ca2+, partially restores the mitochondrial phosphorylative efficiency. Following EtOH and BSO plus EtOH intoxication, the presence of fatty-acid-conjugated diene hydroperoxides, such as octadecadienoic acid hydroperoxide (HPODE), was detected in the mitochondrial membrane. Exogenous HPODE, when added to BSO-treated mitochondria, induced, in a concentration-dependent system, membrane potential derangement. The presence of either GSH-EE or EGTA fully prevented a drop in membrane potential. The results obtained suggest that fatty acid hydroperoxides, endogenously formed during EtOH metabolism, brought about non-specific permeability changes in the mitochondrial inner membrane whose extent was strictly dependent on the level of mitochondrial GSH.

Modulation of hexachlorobenzene-induced hepatic porphyria by methyl isobutyl ketone in the rat

Potential toxic interaction between hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and methyl isobutyl ketone (MiBK) was investigated using two different schedules of toxicant administration. The first schedule involved simultaneous administration of HCB (50 mg/kg/d, p.o. in 10 ml/kg corn oil at 10.00 a.m. for 5 d/wk) and MiBK (7.5 mmol/kg/d, p.o. in 10 ml/kg corn oil at 4.00 p.m. for 3 d/wk) for 6 weeks. The second schedule involved an initial dosing of 25 or 50 mg HCB/kg/d for 12 consecutive days, followed by the administration of 7.5 mmol MiBK/kg every other day for 27 days. When administered simultaneously, MiBK reduced the severity of HCB-induced porphyria, but when given sequentially after HCB accumulation, it enhanced the porphyrinogenic response. These results suggest that the effect of combined exposure to HCB and MiBK on hepatic porphyria depends on the sequence of the administration of both chemicals, and that the mechanism involved in this interaction may invoke both the induction and inhibition of specific hepatic isoenzymes by MiBK.

Effects of chlorinated phenols on rat embryonic and hepatic mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation

Chlorinated phenols (CPs), including pentachlorophenol, selected positional isomers from each major group of CPs, and phenol were previously selected from 38 possible compounds and ranked according to developmental toxicity. The present study was designed to utilize these compounds (and a variety of chemical derivatives) to elucidate the mechanism(s) of developmental toxicity of the chlorinated phenols. Mitochondria were isolated by differential centrifugation from rat embryos (REM) and maternal liver (MLM) on day 15 of gestation. The higher CPs, i.e., pentachlorophenol (C5P), 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,5-C4P), and 2,3,5-trichlorophenol (2,3,5-C3P) at concentrations > 1.33 μM, inhibited ADP phosphorylation and state 4 respiration in the presence of either glutamate plus malate or α-ketoglutarate or succinate. These compounds also exerted a significant uncoupling activity at a concentration of 1.33 μM, with C5P > 2,3,4,5-C4P > 2,3,5-C3P. The lower CPs, i.e., 3,5-dichlorophenol (3,5-C2P), 4-chlorophenol (4-CP), and phenol, produced comparable mitochondrial effects, but only at a higher concentration (20 μM). Enhanced mitochondrial ATPase activity (with and without Mg2+) was induced by C5P, 2,3,4,5-C4P and 2,3,5-C3P at concentrations that exhibited maximum uncoupling activity. The CPs (except for the derivative C5P-anisole) caused significant mitochondrial swelling. The reversal of oligomycin-inhibited respiration by C5P from REM or MLM was also reproducible in the intact Hydra attenuata. A correlation of 0.9 (p = 0.0151) between CP-induced uncoupling activity and the reciprocal of the minimal affective concentration in the Hydra developmental assay was observed. These findings suggest that CPs may elicit their effects by interacting with target cell mitochondria.

Early mitochondrial disfunction in bromobenzene treated mice: a possible factor of liver injury

The membrane potential of liver mitochondria isolated from bromobenzene treated mice was studied. Specifically, the efficiency of the energy-transducing mitochondrial membrane was measured during the phase between the occurrence of a massive loss of hepatic GSH, after 2-3 hr of bromobenzene intoxication, and the appearance of lipid peroxidation and cell death (12-15 hr after treatment). Partial uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation was observed in mitochondria during the early period of intoxication (3-9 hr). These anomalies in oxidative metabolism did not result in irreversible damage to the mitochondrial inner membrane. The possibility that phenolic metabolites of bromobenzene are responsible for the uncoupling effects was examined. Orto- and especially para-bromphenol reproduced the alterations of mitochondrial function when added to normal mitochondria at concentrations comparable to those found in the livers of the intoxicated animals. Since the concentration of the bromophenols (especially p-bromophenol) largely increases after the intoxication times as tested here, mitochondrial uncoupling may represent a mechanism of liver damage acting synergistically with or even independently of other factors such as oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.

The effects of pentachlorophenol (PCP) at the toad neuromuscular junction

1. Effects of PCP at the frog neuromuscular junction were studied in vitro in sciatic nerve sartorius muscle of the toad Pleurodema-thaul. 2. Within the concentration 0.003-0.1 mM, PCP caused a dose-time-dependent block of evoked transmitter release acompanied by an increase in the rate of spontaneous quantal release. 3. PCP induced an increase in miniature endplate potential (MEPP) frequency and it was not antagonized in a Ca2(+)-free medium, indicating that it does not depend upon Ca2+ influx from the external medium, but may act by releasing Ca2+ from intraterminal stores. 4. The present data, together with previous results concerning PCP at eighth sympathetic ganglia indicate that 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) counteracts the effects of PCP on synaptic transmission. This result suggests that PCP interfering Ca2+ influx occurs during depolarization of motor nerve terminals.

Hepatic mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and lipid peroxidation in experimental hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria with dietary carbonyl iron overload

Both human porphyria cutanea tarda and experimental hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria are associated with hepatic injury and are potentiated by excess hepatic iron. The mechanisms whereby cellular injury occurs and the synergistic role of iron overload are unknown. In the present experiments, we studied hepatic mitochondrial function and lipid peroxidation in rats with hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria in which iron loading was achieved by dietary carbonyl iron supplementation. Female rats were treated for 8 weeks, receiving a chow diet supplemented with hexachlorobenzene (0.2%, w/w), carbonyl iron (1.0%, w/w) or hexachlorobenzene + iron. Hepatic total porphyrins were increased 100-fold in rats receiving hexachlorobenzene (hexachlorobenzene alone and hexachlorobenzene + Fe), and total hepatic iron was increased approximately 10-fold in rats receiving iron supplementation (Fe alone and hexachlorobenzene + Fe). There was a significant increase in mitochondrial lipid peroxidation in rats treated with hexachlorobenzene alone and hexachlorobenzene + Fe. A significant reduction in mitochondrial respiratory control ratios and in oxidative phosphorylation (ADP/O ratios) using glutamate and succinate as substrates was demonstrated when rats were treated with hexachlorobenzene + iron. The reductions in respiratory control ratios were due to a combination of an inhibitory defect in electron transport as evidenced by an irreversible decrease in State 3 respiration and an uncoupling effect as evidenced by an increase in State 4 respiration. These findings suggest that lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to the hepatotoxicity seen in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria.

Comparative toxicity of 4-chlorobiphenyl and its metabolite 4-chloro-4'-biphenylol in isolated rat liver mitochondria

4-Chlorobiphenyl (4-CB) is converted by the microsomal cytochrome P-450 system to its hydroxylated metabolite 4-chloro-4'-biphenylol (4'-OH-4-CB). A study of the effects of 4-CB and 4'-OH-4-CB on the energy-linked functions of rat liver mitochondria was carried out. 4'-OH-4-CB was more effective than 4-CB in causing the inhibition of state 3 respiration of mitochondria with both succinate and glutamate/malate. As a substrate specificity, with glutamate/malate the inhibition by each compound (ID50, 30 microM for 4'-OH-4-CB, 76 microM for 4.CB) was more significant than that with succinate (ID50, 200 microM for 4'-OH-4-CB, never reached 50% for 4-CB). From the effects on DNP-stimulated respiration, it was indicated that the electron transport from both glutamate/malate and succinate to oxygen was more sensitively inhibited by 4'-OH-4-CB than by 4-CB, with the same substrate specificity as for state 3 respiration (i.e. the inhibition by both compounds was greater with glutamate/malate than with succinate). Since there existed a good coincidence in the inhibition between state 3 and DNP-stimulated respiration with both substrates, the inhibition of state 3 respiration by both compounds was due to the inhibition of the electron transport. With succinate, the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation by both compounds was observed, the extent of which was greater with 4'-OH-4-CB than with 4-CB, although the uncoupling by higher concentrations of 4'-OH-4-CB was masked because of the increased inhibition in respiration. With glutamate/malate, the uncoupling action of 4-CB was largely, while that of 4'-OH-4-CB was completely, masked by progressive respiratory inhibition. 4'-OH-4-CB was more effective than 4-CB in causing stimulation of latent ATPase in mitochondria. These results indicate that both 4-CB and 4'-OH-4-CB impair mitochondrial energy-transducing functions, but 4'-OH-4-CB is more effective than 4-CB in damaging these functions. Thus, the product of the metabolism is more biologically active than the parent compound. The impairment of energy-linked mitochondrial reactions by the metabolite as well as of the parent compound may be an important factor in the toxicity of 4-CB.

The effect of iron overload on the mitochondrial porphyrin level in the hexachlorobenzene induced experimental porphyria

Liver mitochondria isolated from rats treated with hexachlorobenzene plus iron, present a lower content of total porphyrin in respect to that of mitochondria from rats fed hexachlorobenzene alone. The in vitro mitochondrial porphyrin accumulation processes have been studied in mitochondria from iron loaded rats. It has been found that under these conditions the active porphyrin uptake process, which is driven by the K+ transmembrane gradient, is maximally inhibited in the presence of pentachlorophenol at a concentration similar to that found in vivo in the hexachlorobenzene experimental porphyria. By contrast the same degree of inhibition is presented by control mitochondria only in the presence of pentachlorophenol plus valinomycin, a condition which collapses the transmembrane K+ gradient. A strict correlation between porphyrin uptake and K+ concentration has been found in control as well as in iron treated mitochondria. A possible involvement of peroxidative reactions in the mitochondrial membranes has been proposed as a cause of the changes in the permeability properties of the mitochondrial membranes in the experimental chronic hepatic porphyria under conditions of iron overload.

The actions of phenol and pentachlorophenol (PCP) on axonal conduction, ganglionic synaptic transmission, and the effect of pH changes

1. A comparison of phenol, pentachlorophenol (PCP) and procaine effects on axonal conduction were studied in vitro in the sciatic nerves of toad. PCP and procaine were respectively 6.3 and 3.15 times more potent than phenol in blocking axonal conduction. 2. Effects of PCP on synaptic transmission were studied in vitro in the eighth sympathetic ganglion of toad. 3. Axonal conduction block and synaptic transmission block by phenol was reversible, but not that by PCP. 4. When the PCP ionization was increased, a lesser per cent reached the site of action, reducing its capacity to block the axonal conduction and ganglionic transmission. 5. PCP plus, 3,4-Diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) decreased synaptic transmission block from post-ganglionic compound action potential (CAP) responses to supramaximal preganglionic stimulation.

Lysosomes, but not mitochondria, accumulate iron and porphyrins in porphyria induced by hexachlorobenzene

In female rats with porphyria induced by hexachlorobenzene, the amounts of non-haem iron and porphyrins in liver mitochondrial fractions were increased almost 3-fold and greater than 500-fold respectively compared with that of untreated animals. A considerable fraction of both iron and porphyrins in this fraction was shown to be located in lysosomes. Thus mitochondrial preparations, which were further depleted of lysosomes by Percoll-density-gradient centrifugation, contained 2.78 +/- 0.75 and 2.99 +/- 0.49 nmol of non-haem iron/mg of protein when isolated from the liver of control rats and hexachlorobenzene-treated rats respectively. Mitochondria isolated from the liver of hexachlorobenzene-treated animals contained a pool of iron (about 1 nmol/mg of protein) that was available for haem synthesis in vitro. This pool is similar to that previously reported for mitochondria isolated from the liver of rats with normal haem synthesis. Hexachlorobenzene treatment, therefore, does not affect the iron status of the mitochondria.