Continued depression of hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity caused by hexachlorobenzene or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin despite regeneration after partial hepatectomy

Porphyrin studies in TCDD-exposed workers

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has been shown to inhibit uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity resulting in chronic hepatic porphyria. From a cross-sectional study of 170 workers in chemical industry 68 showed elevated coproporphyrin levels, interpreted as secondary coproporphyrinuria. Three persons suffered from chronic hepatic porphyria in subclinical stages. None of the workers showed an overt porphyria cutanea tarda. A low-grade zinc protoporphyrinemia was observed in three persons. Forty-three of the 170 workers were evaluable for investigating the effect of TCDD on porphyrin levels. No significant correlation was found between TCDD concentration in adipose tissue and the level of uroporphyrin and coproporphyrin. The influence of a chloracne history is described.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced porphyria in genetically inbred mice: partial antagonism and mechanistic studies

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) (233 nmol/kg) causes a significant increase of hepatic uroporphyrin, heptacarboxyporphyrin, and total porphyrins in female C57BL/6 mice, ovariectomized C57BL/6 mice, male C57BL/10 mice, and male C57BL/6 mice 3 weeks after treatment. In contrast, 6-methyl-1,3,8-trichlorodibenzofuran (MCDF) was inactive at a dose of 750 mumol/kg. Cotreatment of the mice with TCDD (233 mol/kg) plus MCDF (750 mumol/kg) resulted in partial antagonism of TCDD-induced hepatic porphyrin accumulation only in the female mice. Parallel studies in female C57BL/6 mice showed that the TCDD-induced porphyria was accompanied by the induction of hepatic microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activities and the depression of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD). MCDF (750 mumol/kg) did not significantly affect these enzymes. In the cotreatment studies (MCDF plus TCDD), MCDF partially antagonized TCDD-induced hepatic porphyrin accumulation but did not affect the levels of hepatic AHH, EROD, or UROD. These results indicate that other factors, in addition to the induction of cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases and depressed UROD activity, are important in TCDD-induced porphyria in C57BL/6 female mice.

Mechanistic studies of the inhibition of hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase in C57BL/10 mice by iron-hexachlorobenzene synergism

Porphyria was induced in C57BL/10 mice with iron overload by a single oral dose (100 mg/kg) of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Within 2 weeks hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.37) was inhibited, reaching a maximum (greater than 95%) at 6-8 weeks. There was no recovery by 14 weeks, despite a fall in liver HCB concentrations to only 6% of the day-3 value. The major rise in hepatic porphyrin levels occurred after 4 weeks and secondary inhibition of uroporphyrinogen synthase (EC 4.2.1.75) was inferred from the progressively greater proportion of uroporphyrin I present relative to the III isomer. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.2) activity was also elevated. Although, in further studies, total microsomal cytochrome P-450 content and ethoxyphenoxazone de-ethylase activity reached a peak a few days after dosing and had declined significantly at the time of maximum inhibition of the decarboxylase, additional treatment of HCB-dosed mice with a cytochrome P1-450 inducer, beta-naphthoflavone, enhanced the inhibition, whereas piperonyl butoxide, an inhibitor of cytochrome P-450, partially protected. Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase was not radiolabelled in vivo by [14C]HCB. There was no major difference in the ability to hydroxylate HCB between hepatic microsomes from induced C57BL/10 mice and those from the insensitive DBA/2 strain. By contrast, lipid peroxidation, in the presence of NADPH, was 8-fold greater in control C57BL/10 microsomes than in DBA/2 microsomes and was stimulated by iron treatment (although not by HCB). The results suggest that the inhibition of hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase is unlikely to be due to a direct effect of a metabolite of HCB but to another process requiring a specific cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme and an unknown iron species.

Fate of hexachlorobenzene in C57BL/10 mice with iron overload

The distribution of radioactivity in male C57BL/10 mice dosed with [14C]hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was followed over 21 days and found to be high in adipose tissue and adrenals, moderate in thymus whereas liver was relatively poorly labelled. A predose of iron (500 mg/kg), which greatly promotes the porphyrogenic action of HCB in this strain, had only a small effect on the distribution of radioactivity in tissues and excreta. Iron induced excretion of urinary metabolites from HCB by C57BL/10 mice but not by the insensitive DBA/2 strain. However, there was no such difference in faecal metabolites, total metabolism was only slightly increased and there was no correlation between liver porphyrin levels and urinary excretion of metabolites by individual mice. At the end of 4 weeks exposure of iron-treated C57BL/10 mice to HCB urinary metabolites fell while porphyrin excretion continued to rise. Thus the considerable sensitisation of the C57BL/10 strain after iron overload to the induction of porphyria by HCB cannot be ascribed simply to enhancement of total metabolism but must be caused either by the formation of a specific undetected metabolite or induction of some other toxic process.