The effect of repeated vinyl chloride exposure on rat hepatic metabolizing enzymes

Abstract

Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 2.8% vinyl chloride for 2 (70 hr), 4 (140 hr), and 6 (210 hr) weeks to determine the sequential biochemical changes related to the oxidation and detoxification ability of hepatic tissue. Glutathione- S-transferase(s) activity using 1,2-epoxy-( p-nitrophenoxy)propane and p-nitrobenzyl chloride as substrates was elevated 17 to 24, 28, and 35 to 42% after 2, 4, and 6 weeks of exposure, respectively, suggesting enzyme(s) induction. Reduced glutathione, the major substrate required to conjugate the toxic metabolites of vinyl chloride, was also consistently elevated. Similarly, the activity of glutathione reductase, the enzyme necessary for the regeneration of reduced glutathione from its oxidized form, was also increased following vinyl chloride exposure. Cytochromes P-450, the major protein involved with vinyl chloride metabolism, was reduced after vinyl chloride exposure, confirming reports of others that vinyl chloride metabolites destroy P-450. No abnormalities of standard clinical biochemical blood tests of liver function were found during 6 weeks of vinyl chloride exposure. The only consistent ultrastructural modification was the dilation of endoplasmic reticulum. The biochemical and ultrastructural alterations could reflect early hepatocellular adaptation to vinyl chloride exposure.