Modulation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene hepatotoxicity in the Fischer-344 rat by a scavenger of superoxide anions and an inhibitor of Kupffer cells.

The hepatotoxicity of 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCB) was studied in Fischer-344 (F344) rats administered methyl palmitate (MP) to inhibit Kupffer cell function or superoxide dismutase (conjugated to polyethylene glycol, i.e., PEG-SOD) to scavenge superoxide anions. In rats not pretreated with phenobarbital (PB), administration of either MP or PEG-SOD dramatically reduced the severity of 1,2-DCB-induced liver injury. Both agents reduced the elevations in plasma ALT activities by 80%. PEG-SOD conferred protection when administered 2 hr before or 2 hr after 1,2-DCB. Light microscopic examination of H & E-stained liver sections confirmed that the reductions in plasma ALT activities reflected protection from hepatocellular injury. Interestingly, MP did not protect against 1,2-DCB-induced hepatotoxicity in PB-pretreated rats. The degree of inhibition of 1,2-DCB hepatotoxicity by PEG-SOD in PB-pretreated animals was also less than that in normal rats and was not significantly different. The lack of a significant inhibition of the PB-potentiated hepatotoxicity by both PEG-SOD and MP suggests that reactive oxygen species released from a nonparenchymal source were not as crucial to the 1,2-DCB hepatotoxicity in the PB-pretreated rats as in the normal rats. Our results using both MP and PEG-SOD support the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species released from Kupffer cells play a major role in the progression of 1,2-DCB hepatotoxicity in the F344 rat.