Reactive metabolites as a cause of hepatotoxicity.

Many compounds, including established drugs, cause liver damage through biotransformation to reactive cytotoxic metabolites which bind covalently to hepatic macromolecules. The forms of expression of such injury include acute necrosis, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and neoplasia. Hepatotoxicity depends on the balance between metabolic activation and inactivation and reduced glutathione protects against the toxicity of some agents by trapping their reactive electrophilic metabolites. Toxicity is usually increased by induction and decreased by inhibition of hepatic microsomal enzymes.