Endotoxin causes early changes in glutathione concentrations in rabbit plasma and liver.

The effects of endotoxin on glutathione concentrations in rabbit plasma and liver were investigated. Lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/kg) from Escherichia coli was administered intravenously to seven male Japanese rabbits. In the liver, the concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) started to decrease, and those of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) started to increase 1 hr after the endotoxin administration, resulting in a progressive decline in the hepatic GSH/GSSG ratio. In the arterial plasma, the concentrations of both GSH and GSSG started to increase 1 hr after the endotoxin administration. Because the increase in the concentrations of GSSG was greater than that in the concentrations of GSH, the GSH/GSSG ratio in the plasma decreased as did that in the liver. These changes in glutathione concentrations occurred simultaneously with the increase in serum osmolality, but earlier than the decrease in the arterial ketone body ratio, both of which are thought to be useful markers for liver damage. It was concluded that endotoxin induced an increase in the plasma concentrations of GSH as well as GSSG, and that the changes in plasma glutathione status might be useful markers of endotoxin-induced damage in organs, including the liver.