Glutathione and enzymes related to free radical metabolism in liver of rats fed a choline-devoid low-methionine diet.

Cancer Lett 1988 Jul;41(1):53-62    

Ghoshal A ; Roomi MW; Ahluwalia M; Simmonds W; Rushmore TH; Farber E ; Ghoshal AK
Departments of Pathology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Fischer F-344 male rats , fed a choline - devoid diet that leads to a highly reproducible sequence of biochemical and biological changes with an ultimate development of hepatocellular carcinoma, show elevated levels of glutathione in the liver at 3 , 6 and 8 days. Several enzymes related to the metabolism of free radicals , including superoxide dismutase , catalase , glutathione peroxidase , glutathione S - transferase and DT-diaphorase show neither increased nor decreased activity as measured between 12 h and 8 days on the diet . Thus, of several known cellular components related to the possible scavenger of free radicals in the liver , only glutathione responded to the feeding of the CD diet . It is tentatively concluded that a decrease in the levels of possible scavengers for free radicals is not a major basis for the nuclear and mitochondrial lipid peroxidation seen early in rats fed a choline - devoid diet .