Increased biliary GSSG efflux from rat livers perfused with thiocarbamide substrates for the flavin-containing monooxygenase

Thiourea, phenylthiourea, and methimazole perfused into rat liver stimulated the biliary efflux of GSSG without affecting the excretion of GSH into either the bile or the caval perfusate. The thiocarbamide moiety appears essential, since perfusion with urea, phenylurea, or N-methylimidazole did not stimulate GSSG release. Hydrogen peroxide is also not an obligatory intermediate, since thiocarbamide-induced GSSG efflux was undiminished in livers from selenium-deficient animals. The response was also not affected by N-benzylimidazole, a potent cytochrome P-450 inhibitor, which suggests that this monooxygenase is not involved. However, the results are consistent with a model based on S-oxygenation of thiocarbamides to formamadine sulfenates catalyzed exclusively by the flavin-containing monooxygenase. The resulting sulfenate is reduced by GSH, yielding GSSG and the parent thiocarbamide. Rapid cellular oxidation of GSH by this mechanism leads to biliary efflux of the disulfide.     

Cholestasis, altered junctional permeability, and inverse changes in sinusoidal and biliary glutathione release by vasopressin and epinephrine

The mechanism for the vasopressin- and epinephrine-induced decrease in bile formation and increase in sinusoidal efflux of glutathione was investigated in rat livers perfused with recirculating fluorocarbon emulsion. Vasopressin and epinephrine transiently decreased bile flow and excretion of endogenous bile acids and glutathione and increased the bile/perfusate ratio of [14C]sucrose, suggesting an increase in junctional permeability, but had no effect on the bile/perfusate ratio of [3H]polyethylene glycol-900. The decreased biliary glutathione was balanced by an increase in sinusoidal efflux, such that total hepatic release remained unchanged. The adrenergic antagonist dihydroergotamine blocked the effects of epinephrine. To examine whether an increase in junctional permeability per se could account for the changes in glutathione efflux, biliary permeability was increased by either bile duct ligation, lowering of perfusate Ca2+ concentration with ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), or addition of taurolithocholate, a cholestatic bile acid. All three maneuvers produced a decrease in biliary glutathione excretion and a concomitant increase in sinusoidal glutathione efflux, whereas total glutathione release was largely unaffected. The effects of EGTA were partially reversed if CaCl2 was reintroduced into the perfusate. Because the GSH/GSSG ratio in perfusate could not be measured in this experimental system due to the spontaneous oxidation of GSH to GSSG, additional experiments in the nonrecirculating mode examined the effects of vasopressin and bile duct ligation on sinusoidal release of GSH and GSSG. In control livers there was no detectable GSSG in perfusate (less than 0.5 nmol.min-1.g-1). After vasopressin administration, the additional sinusoidal glutathione was mainly as GSH, although there was also a significant amount of GSSG (1-2 nmol.min-1.g-1). The additional glutathione released into perfusate after bile duct ligation was 47% as GSSG. When vasopressin was administered to livers whose bile duct had been ligated, its ability to enhance sinusoidal glutathione release was diminished, suggesting that the effects of vasopressin and bile duct ligation are not additive. These observations support previous findings that vasopressin and epinephrine can modulate hepatocyte tight junctional permeability and demonstrate that these hormones produce cholestasis and inverse changes in sinusoidal and biliary glutathione efflux. Other maneuvers that increased biliary permeability to [14C]sucrose also produced cholestasis and a redistribution of glutathione efflux from bile to perfusate, suggesting that an increase in junctional permeability may allow biliary glutathione to reflux from bile to plasma.     

Stimulation of biliary glutathione secretion by sulfonylureas

In isolated perfused rat livers, infusion of the sulfonylureas, glyburide (2.5 microM) and tolbutamide (0.5 mM), stimulated by 2-fold the rate of biliary glutathione secretion. This increase was mainly the result of an apparent increase in the rate of reduced glutathione release by the liver since oxidized glutathione levels in the bile remained unchanged. Sulfonylurea infusion into perfused livers did not alter the rate of glutathione release in the perfusate, indicating that sinusoidal release was not perturbed. N-Benzylimidazole (0.2 mM), an inhibitor of cytochrome P-450, blocked the tolbutamide-mediated increase in biliary release of glutathione. However, the cytochrome P-450 inhibitor did not alter the glyburide-induced increase in biliary glutathione secretion. Glyburide infusion into perfused livers also decreased tissue oxidized glutathione content without altering the total tissue levels of glutathione. The stimulation of biliary glutathione release by sulfonylureas is probably the result of excretion of labile conjugates of glutathione and sulfonylurea metabolites. Although the precise identity of these metabolites is presently unknown, formyltolbutamide and hydroxyglyburide formed during metabolism of tolbutamide and glyburide, respectively, may be the prime candidates for forming labile glutathione conjugates.     

Effect of phenobarbital and 3-methylcholanthrene on the early oxidative stress component induced by lindane in rat liver.

1. Lindane administered to untreated rats or rats pretreated with phenobarbital (PB) or 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) increased liver lipid peroxidation, of the same magnitude in all groups. 2. PB pretreatment produced a 50% increase in lipid peroxidation (TBAR) by liver homogenates and microsomes, an effect accompanied by increases in cytochrome P-450, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, NADPH oxidase and microsomal superoxide anion production, MC pretreatment resulted in increases in liver cytochrome P-450 and NADPH oxidase only. 3. Pretreatment of rats with PB, but not MC or lindane, gave increases in glutathione peroxidase and reductase. 4. Pretreatment with PB, but not MC, increased liver GSH. Lindane decreased liver GSH to the same extent as PB plus lindane. 5. Biliary GSH, GSSG and bile flow were decreased by lindane to similar extents in all groups. 6. Lindane induced periportal necrosis with haemorrhagic foci in all groups. 7. Data presented indicate that the early lipid peroxidative response of liver to lindane was unchanged by PB- or MC-stimulated hepatic microsomal enzyme induction.     

Effect of phenobarbital and 3-methylcholanthrene on the early oxidative stress component induced by lindane in rat liver

1. Lindane administered to untreated rats or rats pretreated with phenobarbital (PB) or 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) increased liver lipid peroxidation, of the same magnitude in all groups.

2. PB pretreatment produced a 50% increase in lipid peroxidation (TBAR) by liver homogenates and microsomes, an effect accompanied by increases in cytochrome P-450, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, NADPH oxidase and microsomal superoxide anion production, MC pretreatment resulted in increases in liver cytochrome P-450 and NADPH oxidase only.

3. Pretreatment of rats with PB, but not MC or lindane, gave increases in glutathione peroxidase and reductase.

4. Pretreatment with PB, but not MC, increased liver GSH. Lindane decreased liver GSH to the same extent as PB plus lindane.

5. Biliary GSH, GSSG and bile flow were decreased by lindane to similar extents in all groups.

6. Lindane induced periportal necrosis with haemorrhagic foci in all groups.

7. Data presented indicate that the early lipid peroxidative response of liver to lindane was unchanged by PB- or MC-stimulated hepatic microsomal enzyme induction.     

Effects of in vivo treatment with a new fluorinated macrolide (P-0501A) and other erythromycins on drug clearance and hepatic functions in perfused rat liver

The hepatic clearance and the effects of a new fluorinated macrolide (P-0501A) on the functions of the isolated, perfused rat liver were compared with two known erythromycins--the base and the estolate--after 7 days of treatment (1.36 mmol/kg po daily). The in vitro metabolism of the antibiotics was induced to different extent but only the base and P-0501A were cleared from the perfusate and the liver faster than in untreated animals. In untreated rats the therapeutically active form of P-0501A was excreted in the bile more than the base and the estolate; after pretreatment, biliary excretion of all erythromycins was nearly double. The content of inactive, complexed cytochrome P-450 was increased only by the base and estolate, with various effects on microsomal activities (some induced, e.g. aminopyrine demethylation, other reduced, e.g. pentobarbital clearance). The clearance and biliary excretion of sulphobromophthalein was not affected by treatment with P-0501A or the base, but was significantly reduced by estolate.     

Nitroglycerin and isosorbide dinitrate stimulation of glutathione disulfide efflux from perfused rat liver

Nitroglycerin (GTN) and isosorbide dinitrate (ISD) are metabolized by glutathione S-transferase to nitrite with production of GSSG from GSH. Infusion of organic nitrates into perfused rat liver led to efflux of GSSG in the bile and nitrite in the perfusate. Biliary GSSG increased more rapidly than did nitrite release as GTN infusion rate was increased, indicating that GSSG reducing capacity was being exceeded. Rapid GTN-induced oxidation of GSH may be the mechanism of tissue GSH depletion by GTN and other alkylnitrates. Such depletion of glutathione may reduce nitrite production from organic nitrates and underlie tolerance to these drugs.     

A model of cytochrome P-450-centered hepatic dysfunction in drug metabolism induced by cobalt-protoporphyrin administration

Cobalt-protoporphyrin treatment disrupts cytochrome P-450-centered drug metabolism and is known to decrease significantly the cytochrome P-450 content of the liver. This study assesses further the correlations between biochemical and functional changes induced by Co-protoporphyrin. Specifically, it confirmed the fall in cytochrome P-450 levels in liver and demonstrated that both NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase activities decreased in a dose-dependent manner, albeit to a lesser degree, upon Co-protoporphyrin administration. Furthermore, plasma clearance of the marker drug aminopyrine fell off abruptly with a minimal decrease in cytochrome P-450 content, and then monotonically with its further depletion. Both aminopyrine and caffeine demethylation, as measured by the amount of radiolabeled CO2 exhaled, also decreased with diminishing cytochrome P-450 content. With aminopyrine the decrease was abrupt but with caffeine biphasic, consistent with preferential isozyme depletion. The drop in oxidative drug metabolism measured by these two in vivo techniques occurred in the absence of organellar damage to hepatocytes, as observed by electron microscopy. In vitro studies of aminopyrine metabolism in microsomes prepared from rats with and without Co-protoporphyrin injection proved to be consistent with the in vivo studies. Moreover aminopyrine Vmax decreased and Km increased with decreasing cytochrome P-450 content, suggesting preferential isozyme depletion. Furthermore, the changes in aminopyrine intrinsic clearance predicted by the in vitro Vmax and Km values agreed with those measured by in vivo plasma clearance. Taken together, these data suggest that Co-protoporphyrin treatment can be used to produce a model of altered cytochrome P-450-centered drug metabolism, as measured consistently by several techniques. However, this model appears to be more complex than one involving nonspecific depletion of cytochrome P-450 alone, and may be influenced also by concomitant changes in the electron transport chain or other aspects of hepatic metabolism.     

Studies on the metabolism of aminopyrine, antipyrine and theophylline using monoclonal antibodies to cytochrome P-450 isozymes purified from rat liver

We investigated the role played by monoclonal antibody defined classes of cytochrome P-450 in the metabolism of antipyrine, aminopyrine and theophylline. Two enzyme inhibitory monoclonal antibodies (MAb 1-7-1 and MAb 2-66-3) raised to two forms of cytochrome P-450 were used. Microsomes were prepared from the livers of untreated, 3-methylcholanthrene (MC)-treated, and phenobarbital (PB)-treated male Wistar rats. Addition of either monoclonal antibody to hepatic microsomes from untreated rats had a negligible effect on the metabolism of aminopyrine, antipyrine or theophylline. These results indicate that the constitutive enzymes responsible for metabolism of these three drugs differ from the MAb inhibitable enzymes responsible for transformation of these drugs in induced microsomes. In microsomes from MC- and PB-treated rats, however, the two MAbs differentially inhibited individual pathways. For example, at 20 mM aminopyrine, as much as 55% of 4-amino-antipyrine (4-AA) formation arose from the family of cytochrome P-450 isozymes that were not inhibited for 4-AA formation at 4 mM aminopyrine and 4-methylaminoantipyrine (4-MAA) formation at either concentration. Thus, the enzyme that functions at 20 mM aminopyrine in 4-MAA formation differs from that which functions at 4 mM aminopyrine in the formation of 4-AA or 4-MAA. Addition of MAbs to induced microsomes revealed at least four isozymes with overlapping specificities involved in antipyrine and theophylline metabolism. Each MAb-inhibitable pathway and the isozymes associated with it were classified into one of three epitope families: those pathways inhibited by both MAbs, those inhibited only by the MAb raised against PB-inducible P-450 isozymes, and those inhibited only by the MAb raised against 3-MC-inducible P-450 isozymes. A fourth group of pathways consisted of those unaffected by addition of either monoclonal antibody. Analysis of metabolism with these two MAbs suggests more extensive heterogeneity of the isozymes that biotransform these drugs than previously recognized.     

Microsomal enzyme activity in perfused rat liver

The activities of microsomal enzymes were observed during perfusion of livers isolated from both normal and phenobarbital treated rats. The hydroxylation of aniline and the O-demethylation of p-nitroanisol did not decrease substantially (by 10 per cent only) in the 9000 g fraction prepared from livers perfused for 4 hr.N-demethylation of aminopyrine was reduced by 60 per cent in the same experimental conditions. A similar decrease of N-demethylation was also observed when livers were isolated from animals treated with phenobarbital. The content of cytochrome P-450 in the microsomes was stable during a 4-hr perfusion of isolated liver. The decrease of N-demethylation of aminopyrine could be partly restored by the simultaneous infusion of nicotinic acid, which is a precursor of NAD and NADP biosynthesis.     

Effects of methyl methacrylate on non-protein thiols and drug metabolizing enzymes in rat liver and kidneys

Male Wistar rats received methyl methacrylate monomer (MMA) i.p. in olive oil 1.0 g/kg body weight on 3 successive days. The weight of the livers and kidneys, and the body weights did not differ from their controls. On the fifth day after treatment, hepatic NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, 7-ethoxycoumarin 0-deethylase and the 2,5-diphenyloxazole hydroxylase exhibited maximal decreases in activity (25%, 58%, 36%, respectively) without any coincident effect on the total amount of cytochrome P-450 hemoprotein itself. One week later these activities had returned to control levels. The enzymatic changes in the kidneys were smaller in magnitude, and they were also reversed sooner. A single i.p. dose of MMA (2 g/kg body weight) caused elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase activity. A tenfold increase of the excretion rate of urinary thioethers was also discovered. The hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) was depleted in 3 h to 20% and the GSSG to half of the value in controls. In kidneys, the GSH was decreased to 48% in 3 h before an apparent phase of overrecovery. At the end of the 24 h observation period, cytochrome P-450 concentrations were somewhat decreased in the liver. The GSH contents showed dose and time-dependent reversible decreases in isolated hepatocytes when incubated for 2 h in a medium containing MMA at the nominal concentrations of 0, 2, 5, or 10 mM. None of the treatments affected either the content of cytochrome P-450 or the viability of the liver cells.     

The metabolism of 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide in vivo and in the isolated perfused rat liver

The metabolism of allylisopropylacetamide (AIA) was studied in normal and phenobarbitone (PB)-pretreated intact male rats and in rats with biliary fistula. Because of the side effects of AIA in the intact rat, the hepatic metabolism of AIA was further investigated in the isolated rat liver perfused with defibrinated rat blood firstly, to confirm the in vivo results and secondly, to further characterize some of the processes involved in the biliary excretion of drugs.At least four days were required to eliminate a single porphyrinogenic dose of 400 mg [2-¹⁴C] AIA per kg body wt from the intact rat, 70 per cent of the administered radioactivity appeared in the urine, as AIA and three metabolites A, B, and C, and 10 per cent in the faeces. AIA, 2-isopropyl-4,5-dihydroxypentanamide (AIA-glycol) and 2-isopropyl-4,5-dihydroxypentanoic acid-γ-lactone (AIA-lactone) were identified in either extracts of glucuronidase-sulphatase-hydrolysed urine. AIA and two other metabolites, D and E, were excreted in bile. The metabolism of AIA by the perfused liver appeared quantitatively similar to that in fistula rats judged by the biliary excretion and by the decline in microsomal cytochrome P-450 after AIA. PB-pretreatment of the rats increased the per cent dose excreted per hour in the bile 2 to 3-fold, enhancing the initial excretion rate of metabolite D from 4 to 5-fold and that of AIA almost 2-fold.The decrease of microsomal P-450 after AIA administration to PB-pretreated rats, previously considered to be biphasic, has been shown to have an additional component with half-life of 4 min. The rapid decline in hepatic P-450 after AIA in PB-pretreated rats correlated with an increased biliary excretion of one particular metabolite of AIA. A pharmacokinetic analysis of the biliary excretion data based on a two-compartment model shows that the rate-limiting step in the biliary excretion of both AIA and metabolite D can be adequately represented as a first-order linear reaction.     

Altered activity of hepatic mixed-function mono-oxygenase enzymes in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

1. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats, hepatic microsomal aminopyrine N-demethylase activity was depressed, whereas aniline hydroxylase activity and cytochrome P-450 content were increased over control values. 2. In diabetic female rats, hepatic microsomal aminopyrine N-demethylase activity, aniline hydroxylase activity, biphenyl 4-hydroxylase activity, and cytochrome P-450 content were increased over control values. 3. Insulin treatment of diabetic male and female rats antagonized all physical and biochemical abnormalities of the diabetic state; 4. Methyl analogues of streptozotocin did not produce a diabetic state when injected into female rats, and resulted in no changes in aminopyrine N-demethylase activity, aniline hydroxylase activity, or cytochrome P-450 content. 5. Insulin treatment of non-diabetic female rats resulted in slight decreases in aminopyrine N-demethylase and aniline hydroxylase activities, but no changes in cytochrome P-450 content. These observations suggest that insulin primarily influences drug metabolism of diabetic animals through correction of the insulin-deficient diabetic state.     

NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase in rat, mouse and human brain

NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase (P-450 reductase), an essential component of the cytochrome P-450 mono-oxygenase system, has been estimated in rat and mouse brain, and seven human brains obtained at autopsy. The ratio of cytochrome P-450 to P-450 reductase is lower in the rat and mouse brains (2.5-4.0) as compared to the respective livers (10.0-11.0). The rat and mouse brain P-450 reductase were immunologically similar to the rat liver P-450 reductase as examined by immunochemical inhibition, Ouchterlony double diffusion and immunoblot. The antisera to rat liver P-450 reductase inhibited rat brain aminopyrine N-demethylase activity to the same extent as NADPH cytochrome c reductase, suggesting that the level of P-450 reductase controls the rate of this cytochrome P-450 mediated activity. The human brain NADPH cytochrome c reductase exhibited regional variation, maximal activity being observed in the brain stem region. Immunochemical inhibition and immunoblot studies revealed immunological cross-reactivity between rat liver reductase and human brain medulla, while none was observed in cortex or cerebellum. Immunocytochemical studies on human brain medulla using antisera to rat liver P-450 reductase indicated localization of the P-450 reductase in neuronal cell body.     

Stimulation of microsomal drug oxidation activities by incorporation into microsomes of purified NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase.

The effects of addition of purified NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase on microsomal activities of aniline hydroxylation, p-phenetidine O-deethylation and ethylmorphine and aminopyrine N-demethylations were investigated utilizing microsomes from untreated, phenobarbital-treated and 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats. The purified reductase was incorporated into microsomes. The drug oxidation activities were increased by the fortification of microsomes with the reductase while the extent of increase in the activities varied with the substrate and microsomes employed. The most pronounced enhancement was seen in p-phenetidine O-deethylation, followed by aniline hydroxylation and aminopyrine and ethylmorphine N-demethylations. The enhancement was more remarkable in microsomes from rats treated with 3-methylcholanthrene or phenobarbital. alpha-Naphthoflavone inhibited p-phenetidine O-deethylation activity markedly when the reductase was incorporated into microsomes, indicating that a larger amount of a species of cytochrome P-450 sensitive to the inhibitor was capable of participating in the oxidation of this substrate in the presence of the added reductase. One of the two Km values seen with higher concentrations of aniline or aminopyrine was altered by the fortification of microsomes with the purified NADPH cytochrome c (P-450) reductase. From these results, we propose that NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase transfers electrons to the selected one or two of multiple species of cytochrome P-450 more preferentially depending upon the substrate and the concentration of the substrate in microsomal membranes.     

Bromobenzene-glutathione excretion into bile reflects toxic activation of bromobenzene in rats.

This investigation was designed to determine whether biliary excretion of bromobenzene(BB)-glutathione(GSH) conjugate can be used as an index of in vivo activation of BB. In order to test this hypothesis, the effect of chemicals known to alter the toxicity and biotransformation of BB (i.e., cytochrome P-450 inducers and inhibitors) on the biliary excretion of BB-GSH was studied in rats. BB-GSH was the major BB metabolite in bile. A linear relationship was observed between the dosage of BB administered and BB-GSH excreted into bile, up to a dosage of 250 mumol/kg of BB. Of the inducers tested, phenobarbital, which is known to increase the toxicity of BB, dramatically increased (700%) the rate of biliary excretion of BB-GSH over that in control animals. In contrast, 3-methylcholanthrene, which is known to decrease the hepatotoxicity of BB, decreased the biliary excretion of BB-GSH (56%). Inhibitors of P-450, such as SKF 525-A and piperonyl butoxide which are known to decrease the activation and hepatotoxicity of BB, also decreased the biliary excretion of BB-GSH. These findings are in agreement with the hypothesis that the biliary excretion of BB-GSH reflects the formation of the reactive BB metabolite in liver and the rate of biliary excretion can be used to determine factors that are important in determining the toxicity of BB.     

Correlation between the metabolism of hexobarbital and aminopyrine in vivo in rats

Two model substrates for oxidative hepatic enzyme activity, namely hexobarbital and aminopyrine, were simultaneously orally administered to rats, and blood concentrations of the substrates measured by g.l.c. The apparent intrinsic clearances of hexobarbital (Cl*int.HB) and of aminopyrine (Cl*int,AM) were correlated in untreated rats, and in rats pretreated with phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene, polychlorinated biphenyls or carbon tetrachloride. Cl*int,HB and Cl*int,AM were both increased by phenobarbital and polychlorinated biphenyl pretreatment. Pretreatment with 3-methylcholanthrene had hardly any effect, and carbon tetrachloride caused a strong diminution of Cl*int.HB and Cl*int.AM. When the dose of aminopyrine was decreased, both Cl*int,HB and Cl*int,AM increased. This indicated that the primary metabolite of aminopyrine, monomethylaminopyrine, inhibits cytochrome P-450. The correlation coefficient for all clearance data was 0.92 (N = 36). It was concluded that both hexobarbital and aminopyrine are metabolized in vivo by the same or closely related cytochrome P-450 isozymes, and both may be used as model substrates in vivo for metabolic conversions primarily mediated by the major phenobarbital-inducible cytochrome P-450 subspecies.     

Paracetamol, 3-monoalkyl- and 3,5-dialkyl derivatives. Comparison of their microsomal cytochrome P-450 dependent oxidation and toxicity in freshly isolated hepatocytes

The effects of 3-monoalkyl- and 3,5-dialkyl-substitution on the cytotoxicity of paracetamol (PAR) in rat hepatocytes was studied. PAR is known to be bioactivated by the hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 containing a mixed-function oxidase system presumably to N-acetyl-para-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), a reactive metabolite which upon overdosage of the drug causes depletion of cellular glutathione (GSH) and hepatotoxicity. The four 3-mono- and the four 3,5-di-alkyl-substituted derivatives of PAR investigated in this study (R = CH3, C2H5, C3H7, C4H9) interacted with cytochrome P-450 giving rise to reverse type I spectral changes. Like PAR, all derivatives underwent cytochrome P-450-mediated oxidation to NAPQIs. In contrast to induction by phenobarbital, induction of cytochrome P-450 by 3-methylcholanthrene enhanced the microsomal oxidation of PAR and its derivatives. The NAPQIs formed from PAR and the 3-mono-alkyl derivatives by microsomal oxidation were found to conjugate with GSH and to oxidise GSH to GSSG. The NAPQIs formed from the 3,5-dialkyl-substituted derivatives, however, only oxidized GSH to GSSG. PAR and the 3-monoalkyl derivatives were found to deplete cellular GSH to about the same extent and to be equally toxic in freshly isolated hepatocytes from 3-methylcholanthrene treated rats. In contrast, the 3,5-di-alkyl-substituted derivatives of PAR did not affect the GSH levels and were not toxic in the hepatocytes, even at higher concentrations. It is suggested that the difference between the way of reacting of 3,5-dialkyl-NAPQIs and NAPQIs from PAR and 3-monoalkyl derivatives with thiols of cellular GSH and protein could account for the observed difference between the toxicity of the 3,5-dialkyl- and the 3-monoalkyl-substituted derivatives of PAR.     

Responses of hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes of mouse, rat and guinea-pig to nickel.

The effects of nickel (Ni) on hepatic monooxygenase activities (aniline 4-hydroxylase, AH; ethylmorphine N-demethylase, EMND; aminopyrine N-demethylase, AMND), cytochrome P-450, cytochrome b5, microsomal haem and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities toward several substrates (1, chloro-2-4-dinitrobenzene, CDNB; 1,2 dichloro-4-nitrobenzene, DCNB; ethacrynic acid, EAA) in mice, rats and guinea-pigs were studied. Ni (59.50 mg NiCl2.6H2O/kg, subcutaneously) was administered to the animals 16 hr prior to sacrifice. Ni significantly inhibited AH, EMND, AMND activities, and decreased cytochrome P-450, cytochrome b5 (except in the livers of rats), and microsomal haem levels in the livers of all the animal species examined. However, the depressions were more profound in livers of mice than in those of the other two species. The hepatic GSH level was significantly inhibited in mice whereas no alteration was observed in rats. In guinea-pigs, the hepatic GSH level was significantly increased by Ni. The hepatic GST activity toward the substrate CDNB was significantly depressed in mice, unaltered in rats and significantly increased in guinea-pigs by Ni. The hepatic GST activity toward DCNB was significantly inhibited in mice whereas no significant alteration was observed in rats. In guinea-pigs, Ni caused significant increase in hepatic GST activity for DCNB. However, hepatic GST activity toward EAA was significantly inhibited in mice whereas significantly increased in rats and guinea-pigs. These results seem to indicate that i) there exists quantitative, but not qualitative, differences among the hepatic monooxygenases of rodents in response to Ni, mice being more sensitive than rats and guinea-pigs, ii) the influence of Ni on hepatic GSH level varies depending on the animal species and iii) the hepatic GSTs of rodents are differentially regulated by Ni.     

Effects of the interferon inducing agents tilorone and polyriboinosinic acid · polyribocytidylic acid (poly IC) on the hepatic monooxygenase systems of pregnant and fetal rats

Interferon inducing agents, including tilorone and polyriboinosinic acid polyribocytidylic acid (poiy IC), are known to depress hepatic cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase systems and the induction of these systems by phenobarbital (PB) and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) in mature male rats. The current study investigated the effects of tilorone and poly IC on the cytochrome P-450 systems of non-induced, PB-induced, MC-induced and pregnenolonecarbonitrile (PCN)-induced pregnant rats and their fetuses. Pregnant rats received either tilorone or poly IC and saline, PB, MC or PCN, and microsomes from their livers and those of their fetuses were examiued for cytochrome P-450 content, aminopyrine (AP) N-demethylase activity and benxo[a]pyrene (BP) hydroxylase activity. The generalixation can be made from these studies that, when the interferon inducing agents caused changes in cytochrome P-450 content or monooxygenase activities of either induced (PB, MC or PCN) or non-induced (saline) animals, decreases were seen in maternal livers and increases in fetal livers. Thus, in maternal livers tilorone depressed cytochrome P-450 and AP N-demethylase activity in non-induced and PB-, MC- and PCN-induced rats and BP hydroxylase activity in the induced animals; BP hydroxylase activity was not depressed in non-induced maternal livers. Poly IC depressed cytochrome P-450 and AP N-demethylase activity in non-induced and PB-induced rats but not in PCN-induced animals. BP hydroxylase was depressed by poly IC in both PB- and PCN-induced animals. Fetal hepatic cytochrome P-450 and monooxygenase activities were increased by tilorone in PB- and PCN-induced rats but not in non-induced or MC-induced animals. Poly IC increased cytochrome P-450 and both monooxygenase activities in PB- and PCN-induced fetal livers, whereas only BP hydroxylase activity was increased in the fetuses of non-induced rats. Several possible explanations are offered for the opposite effects produced by interferon inducing agents in maternal and fetal livers. Unlike maternally administered tilorone, which induced fetal cytocbrome P-450 and monooxygenase activities in the liver, intrauterine tilorone depressed cytochrome P-450 and had no effect on AP N-demethylase or BP hydroxylase activities in the fetal liver. Intrauterine poly IC was without effect on the cytochrome P-450 systems of the fetal liver. Treatment of pregnant rats with tilorone on days 17–20 of gestation inhibited normal maternal weight gain and produced overt signs of toxicity. A dose of 10 mg/kg of poly IC was very toxic in pregnant rats but produced no overt signs of toxicity in virgin female rats. Time courses of the depressant effects of a single injection of poly IC were observed in mid-term pregnant, late-term pregnant, lactating and adult virgin females. Maximum losses of cytochrome P-450 and ethyhnorphine (EM) N-demethylase activity were seen 48 hr after poly IC administration to pregnant and virgin rats, and recoveries were complete within 96 hr. Similar results were observed in lactating rats except that the nadir occurred at 24 rather than at 48 hr. The response of BP hydroxylase activity to poly IC was qualitatively similar except that this activity was not depressed in the mid-term pregnant rats.