Abstract
Styrene is a widely used chemical that has been shown to cause lung tumors in mice but not in rats. Styrene toxicity appears to be related to its bioactivation to styrene oxide, and this occurs almost exclusively in Clara cells. An important pathway in the detoxification of styrene oxide is via epoxide hydrolase to yield styrene glycol. When mouse Clara cells were incubated with racemic styrene oxide, R-styrene glycol was the predominant metabolite, giving an R/S ratio of 3.6. When the pure styrene oxide enantiomers were used as substrates, the corresponding styrene glycols were the predominant but not exclusive metabolites. Activity was slightly higher with the S-styrene oxide than with the R-styrene oxide. Addition of reduced glutathione to the incubation medium resulted in an increase in epoxide hydrolase activity, perhaps by decreasing oxidative stress. Mouse Clara cells thus show the capacity for detoxifying styrene oxide.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
