Adducts of 3-methylindole and glutathione: species differences in organ-selective bioactivation.

Lung and liver microsomes of several species were evaluated for potential to form activated metabolites of 3-methylindole (3MI). Microsomes were incubated with [14C]3MI and glutathione (GSH). Electrophilic 3MI metabolites were trapped and quantitated as GSH adducts by HPLC, and by determining the amounts of activated intermediates which became covalently bound to microsomal protein. The highest rates of 3MI-GSH adduct formation by the lung were detected in microsomes of the goat, followed in decreasing order by pulmonary microsomes from the horse, monkey, mouse, and rat, respectively. In contrast, hepatic 3MI-GSH adduct production was highest in microsomes from the rat, followed by mouse, monkey, goat, and horse microsomes, respectively. These results suggest that the species and organ-selective toxicity of 3MI are primarily caused by differences in rates of oxidative metabolism of 3MI to an electrophilic intermediate.