In vitro uptake of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) by renal cortical tissue of rabbits and rats

The active transport of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T by renal cortical slices of rats and rabbits has been characterized with in vitro techniques. Renal cortical slices, prepared from both species, accumulate 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, although greater uptake, was noted with rabbit tissue. Nitrogen and various metabolic inhibitors reduced the uptakes. This indicates that these processes are energy dependent. The enhancement of accumulation by the addition of certain metabolic substrates, e.g. acetate, lactate, provides evidence that both organic acid herbicides are transported by the renal organic anion mechanism. Potassium-ion stimulation also supports this concept. It is concluded that the renal tubular transport by the organic anion mechanism may account for the relatively rapid disappearance of these compounds, which in turn may contribute to their low toxicity.     

The metabolism and distribution of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid in female rats

[1-¹⁴C]-2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) was fed to pregnant and non-pregnant female rats at various dosages, and expired air, urine, feces, internal organs and tissues were analyzed for radioactivity. During the first 24 hr, 75 ± 7% of the radioactivity was excreted in the urine and 8.2 ± 4.6% in the feces. No ¹⁴C was found in the expired air. There was no significant difference in the rate of elimination between the pregnant and nonpregnant rats, or among the dosages used. Radioactivity was detected in all tissues, with the highest concentration being found in the kidney. The maximum concentration of radioactivity in all tissues was generally reached between 6 to 12 hr after po dosing and then started to decline rapidly. Radioactivity was also detected in the fetuses and in the milk. The average biological half-life of 2,4,5-T in the organs was 3.4 hr for the adult rats and 97 hr for the newborn.     

The fate of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) following oral administration to rats and dogs

Clearance of ¹⁴C activity from the plasma and its elimination from the body of rats and dogs were determined after single oral doses of [carboxy-¹⁴C]2,4,5-T. The half-life values for the clearance of ¹⁴C activity from the plasma of rats given doses of 5, 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg were 4.7, 4.2, 19.4 and 25.2 hr, respectively; half-lives for elimination from the body were 13.6, 13.1, 19.3 and 28.9 hr, respectively. The apparent volume of distribution also increased with dose. Urinary excretion of unchanged 2,4,5-T accounted for most of the ¹⁴C activity eliminated from the body of rats. A small amount of unidentified metabolite was detected in the urine when rats were given 100 or 200 mg/kg but not 5 or 50 mg/kg. These results show that the distribution, metabolism and excretion of 2,4,5-T are markedly altered when large doses are administered.In dogs given 5 mg/kg, the half-life values for clearance from plasma and elimination from the body were 77.0 and 86.6 hr, respectively, offering a plausible explanation of why 2,4,5-T is more toxic in dogs than in rats. Appreciable excretion in the feces was noted and three unidentified metabolites were detected in urine of dogs, indicating a considerable difference in metabolism of 2,4,5-T by dogs and rats given the same dose.     

In vitro nephrotoxicity induced by chloronitrobenzenes in renal cortical slices from Fischer 344 rats

Chloronitrobenzenes are important chemical intermediates in the manufacture of industrial, agricultural and pharmaceutical agents. Toxicity induced by the various chloronitrobenzene isomers in vivo includes hematotoxicity, immunotoxicity, hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. The purpose of the study was to determine the direct nephrotoxic effects of nitrobenzene and ten chlorinated nitrobenzene derivatives using renal cortical slices as the in vitro model. Renal cortical slices were prepared from kidneys of untreated, male Fischer 344 rats and incubated with nitrobenzene (1.0-5.0 mM), a chloronitrobenzene (0.5-5.0 mM) or vehicle for 2 h. At the end of the 2 h incubation, tissue gluconeogenesis capacity (pyruvate-stimulated gluconeogenesis) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release were determined as measures of cellular function and cytotoxicity. Based on decreased pyruvate-stimulated gluconeogenesis and increased LDH release, the order of decreasing nephrotoxic potential was trichloronitrobenzenes>dichloronitrobenzenes>monochloronitrobenzenes>nitrobenzene. Among the mono- and dichloronitrobenzenes, 1-chloro-3-nitrobenzene and 3,4-dichloronitrobenzene were the most potent nephrotoxicants, while the two trichloronitrobenzenes tested exhibited similar nephrotoxic potentials. These results demonstrate that chloronitrobenzenes are directly nephrotoxic in vitro and that increasing the number of chloro groups increases the nephrotoxic potential of the resulting chloronitrobenzene derivative.     

Analysis of gentamicin uptake by rat renal cortical slices.

Slices from rat renal cortex accumulated gentamicin (GM) against a concentration gradient. At least part of this accumulation appeared to be due to active transport as evidenced by dependence on oxygen. Classical inhibitors (both competitive and noncompetitive) of organic acid and base transport in the kidney did not reduce in vitro GM tissue to medium equilibrium ratios suggesting that GM is not transported by classical renal organic ion transport mechanisms. High concentrations of GM in vitro inhibited renal transport of the organic anion p-aminohippurate and the organic cation N¹-methylnicotinamide as well as the rate of tissue respiration.     

Simultaneous changes of the spontaneous and stimulus-evoked cortical activity in rats acutely treated with mercuric chloride

In earlier studies of our laboratory and in several other reports, alterations in the electrical activity of the cortex of experimental animals on subchronic mercury (Hg) administration were described. In the present work, simultaneous changes in the spontaneous and stimulus-evoked cortical activity elicited by acute administration of inorganic Hg were evaluated with the aim of finding any correlation of the two, possibly giving insight into the mechanism of the alterations. In young adult male Wistar rats, spontaneous cortical, as well as stimulus-evoked cortical and peripheral nervous activity was recorded, before and after acute administration of 3.5 and 7.0 mg/kg Hg2+ ip. The effects of Hg2+ appeared within 10 min and most became significant over 3 h. On the cortex, slowed spontaneous activity, as well as increased amplitude and latency of the evoked potentials (EPs) was seen, and in the periphery, decreased nerve conduction velocity. These alterations seemed to be consistent with a separate cortical and peripheral axonal effect of Hg.     

Inhibition of thyroid iodine uptake and organification in rats treated with kojic acid.

In order to elucidate the mechanisms of reduction of serum thyroid hormones caused by continuous administration of kojic acid (KA) and its thyroid tumor-promotion effects, male F344 rats were given pulverized basal diet containing 0.008%, 0.03%, 0.125%, 0.5%, or 2% KA for 4 weeks. As an untreated control group, additional rats were given basal diet alone for the same period. The thyroid 125I uptake was significantly decreased in the groups receiving 0.03% or more. In addition, significant reduction of organic formation of iodine and serum T3 and T4 levels were observed in the 2% KA group along with pronounced elevation of serum (TSH). Both absolute and relative thyroid weights were significantly increased in the groups receiving 0.5% of KA or more. Histopathologically, decreased colloid in the thyroid follicles and follicular cell hypertrophy in the thyroid were apparent at high incidences in the groups given 0.03% or more. In addition, thyroid capsular fibrosis was evident in all rats of the 2% KA group. In quantitative morphometrical analysis, the ratio of the area of follicular epithelial cells to the area of colloids was significantly increased in the groups given 0.03% KA or more. The results suggest that KA alteration of thyroid-related hormone levels in the 2% KA group are due to inhibition of iodide uptake and iodine organification in the thyroid, with tumor-promoting effects on development of thyroid proliferative lesions, probably secondary to prolonged serum TSH stimulation resulting from negative feedback through the pituitary-thyroid axis.     

In vitro enhancement of erythrocyte merucry uptake by spironolactone.

Four groups of male Wistar rats were fed the following regimen for 40 days: (1) 20 ppm methylmercury chloride (MMC); (2) 20 ppm MMC + 3 ppm sodium selenite; (3) 3 ppm sodium selenite; (4) basal diet. The basal diet which contained 0.4 ppm “organic selenium” originating mainly from fish meal and wheat was resumed on day 41. Protective effect of selenite over toxicity of methylmercury was observed in terms of both growth rate and morbidity.Concentrations of total mercury, methylmercury and selenium were determined on Days 0, 20, 41, 47, 54, and 61 in the brain, liver, kidney, and blood. It was noted that methylmercury increased accumulation of selenium in all the organs analyzed while selenium retention varied according to the type of selenium and the organs. Modification by selenite, despite its protective effect, remained equivocal in regard to the organ accumulation of mercury and its retention therein.     

Effect of chronic accumulation of aluminum on renal function,cortical renal oxidative stress and cortical renal organic anion transport in rats

The aim of the present work was to study the nephrotoxicity of aluminum lactate administered for 3 months (0.57 mg/100 g bodyweight aluminum, i.p., three times per week) to male Wistar rats. Renal function was studied after 6 weeks of treatment (urine was obtained from rats in metabolic cages) and at the end of the treatment using clearance techniques. Another group of rats was used as kidneys donors at the end of treatment. The renal cortex was separated and homogenized to determine glutathione (GSH) level, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and lipid peroxidation (LPO) level. Renal cortex slices were also used to study the p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) accumulation during steady-state conditions and the kinetics of uptake process. Clearance results, at the end of the treatment, indicated that renal functions in treated-rats were not different from those measured in control rats, although the renal concentration parameters differ when they were measured in treated rats after 24 h of food and water deprivation. Balances of water and sodium were also modified at both 1.5 and 3 months of treatment. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (AP) relative to inulin excreted in urine was significantly impaired: controls 2.2±0.6 IUI/mg, Al-treated 5.1±0.5 IU/mg, P<0.05. These data indicated that proximal tubular cells were loosing apical brush border membranes. Data obtained in cortex homogenates indicated that both GSH and GST activity were significantly decreased, and a significant increase of LPO was noted simultaneously in Al-treated rats. Renal accumulation of PAH, estimated as slice-to-medium ratio, decreased significantly in the Al-treated rats: control rats 3.06±0.02 (n=12), Al-treated rats 2.26±0.04 (n=12), P<0.0001. The maximal rate of uptake was also diminished in treated rats, while the apparent affinity remained unchanged. All these results indicate that aluminum accumulation in renal tissue affects cellular metabolism, promotes oxidative stress and induces alterations in renal tubular PAH transport, together with an impairment in sodium and water balance only detected under conditions of water deprivation, without other evident changes in glomerular filtration rate or other global functions measured by clearance techniques at least at this time of chronic toxicity.     

Effects of inhibitors of gluconeogenesis on weak organic acid uptake in rat renal tubules.

Using inhibitors of gluconeogenesis (phenylpyruvate, alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate, quinolinate, D-malate, aminooxyacetate), we analysed mechanisms by which the gluconeogenic substrates, lactate and pyruvate, as well as a short-chain fatty acid, acetate, stimulate the uptake of a weak organic acid, fluorescein, in the rat kidney. We have shown that these inhibitors modified both the rate of glucose production from lactate and pyruvate in the renal cortex fragment suspension and the stimulatory effects of the metabolic substrates on fluorescein uptake in superficial proximal tubules in the renal cortex slices. The peculiarities of the effects of lactate and pyruvate on the uptake were correlated with the partial divergence of the pathways of gluconeogenesis from these precursors. The linkage of the weak organic acid uptake with gluconeogenesis is interpreted in terms of the hypothesis that the uptake is controlled by the cytoplasmic pyridine nucleotide redox potential, which is maintained with the participation of certain processes involved in glucose synthesis.     

Sequential histopathologic, hematologic, and blood chemistry changes induced in mice by a technical and a purified preparation of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid.

Maternal mice were given 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) on days 6 through 14 of pregnancy in a tetratologic study at the National Center for Toxicological Research. Sick or moribund mice sacrificed after 4-8 doses of 120 mg/kg 2,4,5-T often showed severe myocardial lesions, hypocellularity of the bone marrow, and depletion of lymphocytes in the thymus, spleen, or lymph nodes. Healthy mice sacrificed on day 17, 11 days after treatment began, showed few or no severe lesions. To determine if lesions earlier in gestation contributed significantly to an increase in fetal abnormalities in the healthy 17-day survivors, dihybrid croos F2 pregnant and nonpregnant mice received by gavage 0, 60, or 120 mg/kg 2,4,5-T on days 6 through 14 of pregnancy. One group received a technical preparation containing 97.9 +/- 0.4% 2,4,5-T; another received a purified preparation containing 99 +/- 0.3% 2,4,5-T. Mice were sacrificed when they became moribund and at 6, 24, and 30 hr, as well as at 4, 6, 8, and 11 days after beginning treatment. Almost all mice given 60 mg/kg and many given 120 mg/kg 2,4,5-T appeared normal at sacrifice either early or late in pregnancy and showed little or no pathologic changes. Mice that became ill or moribund often showed severe lesions; few survived 11 days. Severe myocardial lesions were seen in 26 of 70 moribund mice fiven the technical 2,4,5-T and 24 of 33 given the purified preparation of 2,4,5-T. The moribund mice, particularly those given the purified compound, also showed a high incidence of lesions in other organs and marked hematological and blood chemistry changes. These findings indicate that the lesions are primarily due to 2,4,5-T rather than to impurities in the technical preparation; also impaired maternal health is not the primary cause of the increase in fetal abnormalities.     

Behavioral changes and cholinesterase activity of rats acutely treated with propoxur

Early assessment of neurological and behavioral effects is extremely valuable for early identification of intoxications because preventive measures can be taken against more severe or chronic toxic consequences. The time course of the effects of an oral dose of the anticholinesterase agent propoxur (8.3 mg/kg) was determined on behaviors displayed in the open-field and during an active avoidance task by rats and on blood and brain cholinesterase activity. Maximum inhibition of blood cholinesterase was observed within 30 min after administration of propoxur. The half-life of enzyme-activity recovery was estimated to be 208.6 min. Peak brain cholinesterase inhibition was also detected between 5 and 30 min of the pesticide administration, but the half-life for enzyme activity recovery was much shorter, in the range of 85 min. Within this same time interval of the enzyme effects, diminished motor and exploratory activities and decreased performance of animals in the active avoidance task were observed. Likewise, behavioral normalization after propoxur followed a time frame similar to that of brain cholinesterase. These data indicate that behavioral changes that occur during intoxication with low oral doses of propoxur may be dissociated from signs characteristic of cholinergic over-stimulation but accompany brain cholinesterase activity inhibition.     

Effects of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and quinolinic acid on 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid transport by the rabbit choroid plexus: Pharmacology and electron microscopic cytochemistry

2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) reduced the uptake of 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) by the choroid plexus in a dose-related manner, while treatment with quinolinic acid at comparable concentrations did not inhibit 5-HIAA uptake. The role of carrier-mediated transport in the clearance of 5-HIAA from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was also evaluated in vivo by ventriculocisternal perfusion. Steady-state clearance of 5-HIAA from CSF exceeded that of inulin and was reduced competitively in the presence of 2,4,5-T. However, the clearance was not affected by quinolinic acid. The effect of 2,4,5-T on transport enzyme systems was also studied by electron microscopic cytochemistry. Na+-K+-ATPase and cytochrome oxidase activities in the choroid plexus were reduced by 2,4,5-T. Since this transport system in the choroid plexus is normally responsible for the excretion of the serotonin metabolite from the brain to the plasma, accumulation of endogenously produced organic acids in the CSF and the brain, secondary to reduced clearance by the choroid plexus, could be a contributing factor in the development of neurotoxicity.     

Inhibitory effect of valproate on weak organic acid uptake in rat renal proximal tubules.

The effects of an antiepileptic drug, valproic acid (VPA), on transport mechanisms involved in renal excretion of anionic xenobiotics were investigated on rat renal proximal tubules in vitro. It was found that VPA (0.1-1 mM) dose dependently inhibited the baseline uptake of a marker organic anion, fluorescein, in the tubules. The inhibition could not be exclusively accounted for by competition between VPA and fluorescein. Taking into account a proposed relationship between the weak organic anion uptake and ammoniagenesis, the influence of VPA (0.5 mM) on the effects of glutamine and glutamate (both at 5 mM) on fluorescein uptake and ammonia production were examined. Glutamine stimulated ammonia production by the tubules, with the glutamine-induced ammoniagenesis being further augmented by VPA, while glutamate failed to affect the basal ammoniagenesis. Both glutamine (5 mM) and glutamate (5 mM) slightly inhibited fluorescein uptake, with the inhibitory effects not modified by VPA. Thus, there was no coincidence in the effects of VPA on organic anion uptake and renal ammoniagenesis. At the same time, the inhibitory effect of VPA (0.5 mM) on fluorescein uptake was largely overcome by addition of pyruvate (5 mM) to the incubation medium. In addition, VPA strongly inhibited glucose production from pyruvate. A known modulator of pyruvate metabolism, dichloroacetic acid (DCA, 1 mM), also inhibited fluorescein uptake, although its inhibitory effect was less pronounced than that of VPA. Both inhibitors failed to alter the tissue content of alpha-ketoglutarate or lactate but did slightly augment the pyruvate level. The inhibitory effects of VPA and DCA on the baseline fluorescein uptake were not additive, suggesting their similar intracellular targeting. It is assumed that the inhibitory effect of VPA on baseline fluorescein uptake in rat renal proximal tubules in vitro may be associated with its action on pyruvate metabolism.     

In vitro uptake of oral contraceptive steroids by magnesium trisilicate.

Some steroids used in oral contraceptives were adsorbed significantly by magnesium trisilicate. The adsorption affinity followed the sequence: ethindrone greater than mestranol greater than norethindrone greater than ethinyl estradiol. Adsorption data obtained at relatively low initial concentrations fitted a Langmuir plot; the values for monolayer adsorption ranged between 0.24 and 0.32 mg/g. At higher concentrations of the steroids, multilayer adsorption occurred. The results of desorption experiments made at 37 degrees in water and 0.05 N HCl suggested that desorption was incomplete and depended on the amount of steroid adsorbed. During the dissolution testing of a brand of contraceptive tablets containing norethindrone acetate, the presence of 0.5% (w/v) magnesium trisilicate in the medium resulted in almost complete reduction in the amount of the steroid remaining in solution after 1 hr.     

Amiodarone and desethylamiodarone tissue uptake in rats chronically treated with amiodarone is non-linear with the dose

Four groups of rats were given amiodarone chronically at 25, 37m?5, 50, 75 mg kg^?1/12 h for 3 weeks; on day 21 the animals were killed and blood, plasma, heart, lung, liver and fat were collected and assayed for amiodarone and desethylamiodarone. Amiodarone plasma concentrations ranged from 0m?74 to 4m?68 μg mL^?1 and desethylamiodarone from 0m?08 to 2m?05 μg mL^?1. Plasma, blood and tissue concentrations of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone increased significantly with the dose. Blood/plasma and tissue/plasma partition ratios of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone increased significantly at the higher doses. Blood/plasma ratio was a good predictor of tissue/plasma ratios of amiodarone and its metabolite, except in fat. Total phospholipid concentrations in lung were correlated with amiodarone and desethylamiodarone concentrations in plasma, blood and lung.