Role of detoxication pathways in acute toxicity levels of phosphorothionate insecticides in the rat.

Phosphorothionate insecticides and their active oxon metabolites can be detoxified by a variety of hepatic mechanisms. Cytochrome P450-mediated dearylation activity was higher in males than in females. While dearylation was induced by phenobarbital in both sexes, it was induced by beta-naphthoflavone in females only. Detoxication of oxons in the presence of EDTA was inducible by phenobarbital, was higher in males than in females, and paralleled aliesterase activity. In vitro Ca(++)-dependent A-esterase-mediated hydrolysis of chlorpyrifos-oxon but not of paraoxon occurred at biologically relevant nM concentrations. This hydrolysis was also inducible by phenobarbital. Glutathione-mediated conjugation did not appear to be relevant to the disposition of the phosphorothionates studied here. Hepatic detoxication via dearylation, aliesterase phosphorylation and A-esterase-mediated hydrolysis (for some organophosphates) all appear to be relevant reactions in the attenuation of acute toxicity.