Protective action of dehydroascorbic acid on the Ah receptor-dependent and receptor-independent induction of lipid peroxidation in adipose tissue of male guinea pig caused by TCDD administration.

The effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on lipid peroxidation, 3H-Me-glucose (3H-Me-glu), and 14C-dehydroascorbic acid (14C-DHA) uptakes were studied in adipose tissue of male guinea pig. Under in vitro test conditions, using isolated adipose tissue in a culture medium (explant culture), TCDD reduced the uptake of 3H-Me-glu and 14C-DHA in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. The IC50 values of TCDD's action were 0.04 and 2 nM on 14C-DHA and 3H-Me-glu uptakes, respectively. TCDD (10 nM) also suppressed glucose transporting activity within 15 minutes in explant-cultured adipocytes. Cytochalasin B (CB) and nonlabeled D-glucose inhibited 14C-DHA uptake also in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, TCDD was found to induce lipid peroxidation in explant-cultured adipose tissue. This effect of TCDD was similar to that of a typical lipid peroxidation inducer, CCl4, and it was dose and time dependent. TCDD caused a statistically significant rise in lipid peroxidation at a concentration as low as 0.1 nM after 60 minutes of treatment in explant culture. Unexpectedly, the Ah receptor partial antagonists, 4,7-phenanthroline and alpha-naphthoflavone, did not fully antagonize TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation in explant-cultured adipocytes. In vivo treatment of TCDD also induced lipid peroxidation. Among seven organs of male guinea pig tested, the levels of lipid peroxidation in adipose tissue and in liver increased at 1 and 40 days following a single i.p. dose of TCDD (1 microgram/kg). The results of an in vivo time-course study indicated that such an effect of TCDD was most pronounced after 40 days of treatment. Finally, we have tested the protective role of some antioxidants on TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation under explant-culture conditions. The results indicated that DHA, but not ascorbic acid, could completely abolish TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation. The protective effect of DHA on TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation was stronger than that of alpha-tocopherol and uric acid, and this effect was blocked by CB. We conclude from these studies that TCDD acts in this guinea pig tissue through two different routes: one is the Ah receptor-dependent route causing the reduction of the level of glucose transporters and subsequent decrease of cellular uptake of DHA and the other, the Ah receptor-independent route causing the overall lipid peroxidation. Nevertheless, it appears likely that both events are antagonized by DHA.