Antioxidative Effect of Protoporphyrin and Increase of Glutathione in Protoporphyrin-Administered Rat Liver

• Published in: Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin Vol. 16; no. 8; pp. 759 - 761
• Main Authors: IMAI, Kimie, AIMOTO, Tachio, SATO, Masaki, KIMURA, Ryohei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 1993; Maruzen; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; gamma-Glutamyltransferase - metabolism; General and cellular metabolism. Vitamins; glutathione; Glutathione - metabolism; In Vitro Techniques; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase - metabolism; lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; Liver - drug effects; Liver - metabolism; Male; Maleates - pharmacology; Medical sciences; NADPH-Ferrihemoprotein Reductase - metabolism; Perfusion; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; protoporphyrin; Protoporphyrins - pharmacology; rat liver; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Intravenous administration; Rat; Digestive system; Enzyme; Liver; Rodentia; Lipids; Antioxidant; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Protoporphyrin; Enzymatic activity; Animal; Glutathione; Peroxidation
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.16.759

The effect of protoporphyrin (PP) administration on the activities of enzymes related to and/or involved in lipid peroxidation and on the content of reduced glutathione (GSH) was investigated in rat liver. PP, at an intravenous does of 20 mg/kg, increased GSH content, caused a weak suppression of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity and a slight increase of ν-glutamyl transpeptidase activity 24h after dosing, but had no effect on the activities of other enzymes such as xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase, ν-glutamylcysteine synthetase or glutathione synthetase. Treatment of rats with diethyl maleate following PP injection resulted in the disappearance of antioxidative action of PP. Furthermore, sinusoidal, but not canalicular, efflux of the hepatic GSH was decreased by the PP treatment. The increase of liver GSH content by PP treatment due to the decrease of sinusoidal efflux of GSH from the liver, thus would be involved in the exertion of antioxidative action of PP.