Uptake and transformation of lindane by the liver during short exposure times.

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Xenobiotic compounds are removed from the body after their conversion to water-soluble metabolites. The liver is the organ primarily responsible for this conversion. The metabolism of LINDANE (y-hexachlorocyclohexane = y-HCH) in the liver is well documented by Fukami (1980) and Kurihara et ai.(1980) and several pathways are proposed by Chadwick et ai.(1978) and Portig et ai.(|979). Most of the studies involve the identification of the metabolites in urine (Engst et ai.1978; Allsup and Walsh 1982), liver homogenates, crude homogenate or purified microsomal fractions. Analyses are often made on samples collected over a 24 or 48 hr period from normal or pretreated animals (Chadwick et ai.|977; Chadwick et al.1981). Few studies utilize very short exposure times. Homogenate studies suggest that alternate pathways are involved in Lindane metabolism when cells and organs are disrupted. These metabolites are not always found in typical in vivo studies involving the identification of end point metabolites in urine. We propose to investigate the metabolism of a pesticide, LINDANE, by the whole organ or whole cells from that organ to determine the initial steps in its metabolism. Studies concern both in situ and in vitro conditions, they are envisaged on perfused organ and on isolated cells preparations and restricted to observations over a 1 hr period.