The significance of covalent binding of catechols to proteins in vivo.

When rats were dosed with 14 microgram/kg 3H-isoproterenol, 3H-radioactivity was measurable in the liver until 48 h. This amount was not different in livers of animals which have been pretreated with diethyl maleate. After exhaustive extraction, a significant amount of 3H-radioactivity from isoproterenol could be detected in the proteins of total liver (homogenate), of cytosol and of microsomes. In the cytosol fraction of diethyl maleate pretreated animals twice the amount of isoproterenol-radioactivity was found in the extracted proteins compared to controls. In the microsomal fraction there was no difference between diethyl maleate pretreated and control animals in the amount of radioactivity incorporated into proteins. In all fractions the radioactivity measurable in the extracted proteins declined with a half life time of about 24 h. The in vivo results on covalent binding of isoproterenol are compared to the irreversible protein binding of ethinyloestradiol in vivo. Quantitatively, these in vivo data are compared to the results on irreversible protein binding obtained during incubations of isoproterenol or ethinyloestradiol with rat liver microsomes.