Status of reduced glutathione in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes and the effect on conjugation of benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-oxide.

The intracellular level of reduced glutathione (GSH) and GSH conjugation have been investigated in primary cell cultures of hepatocytes isolated from control rats, phenobarbitone (PB) and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) treated rats. The data demonstrate that in all cell cultures the GSH concentrations show a triphasic pattern: (i) within 1 h of culture an initial marked decrease to 50% of the levels found in fresh hepatocytes; (ii) recovery of GSH concentrations to above the levels observed in fresh cells. This occurs after 6 h in culture with control cells and after 10-24 h with cells from either PB or MC treated rats and was most prominent in cells from PB-treated rats. (iii) A slow decline to between 30 and 40 nmol GSH/mg protein from 24 to 96 h in culture. Synthesis of GSH was slower in cultured cells from PB treated rats and this was confirmed by the resynthesis rates when diethylmaleate (DEM) was used to deplete GSH. The formation of GSH conjugates with racemic 7 beta,8 alpha-dihydroxy-9 alpha,10 alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE) was measured in control cells in suspension and after 3 and 24 h in culture. Despite the decrease in GSH concentrations observed between 1 and 4 h after culture, the conjugation rates were not decreased.