Effects of vitamin A and/or thyroidectomy on liver microsomal enzymes and their induction in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin-treated rats

Abstract

Vitamin A and thyroid hormone status have been shown previously to alter the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) in rats. In the present study, we have examined the effects of a vitamin A-excess and a vitamin A-deficient diet on thyroid hormone levels, on selected drug-metabolizing enzymes in liver microsomes, and on their inducibility by TCDD in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Except for a slight increase in serum T 3 levels, none of these end points was affected by feeding rats the vitamin A-deficient diet. In contrast, excess dietary vitamin A caused a decrease in serum thyroxine (T 4) and triiodothyronine (T 3) levels, although the levels of T 3 remained in the euthyroid range (60–80 ng/dl). The concentration of liver microsomal cytochromes P-450 and b 5 and the basal activity of benzo[ a]pyrene hydroxylase and 7-ethoxyresorufin O-de-ethylase were unaffected by excess dietary vitamin A. This result is consistent with our previous observation that the basal activity of these enzymes is dependent more on T 3 than on T 4 levels. Vitamin A excess markedly suppressed the activity of liver microsomal UDP-glucuronosyl transferase toward 1-naphthol. However, no such enzyme suppression was observed in thyroidectomized rats. This suggests that the suppressive effect of vitamin A on UDP-glucuronosyl transferase activity may be dependent on T 3. Neither vitamin A nor thyroid status had any major effect on the inducibility of UDP- glucuronosyl transferase and cytochrome P-450-dependent enzyme activities by TCDD. However, vitamin A and TCDD had a nearly additive effect on suppression of serum T 4. It is concluded that liver microsomal enzyme induction is not associated with the modulatory effect of vitamin A and thyroid hormones on the toxicity of TCDD.