Effects of buthionine sulfoximine and diethyl maleate on glutathione turnover in the channel catfish

Abstract

Despite the growing use of fish in toxicological studies, little is known regarding glutathione (GSH) metabolism and turnover in these aquatic species. Therefore, we examined GSH metabolism in the liver and gills of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), a commonly employed aquatic toxicological model. Treatment of channel catfish with L-buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine (BSO, 400 or 1000 mg/kg, i.p.), an inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis, did not deplete hepatic GSH in channel catfish. In addition, hepatic GSH concentrations did not fluctuate in catfish starved for 3 days, indicating relatively slow turnover of hepatic GSH. However, hepatic GSH concentrations were reduced significantly (P less than 0.05) after 7 days of starvation. Administration of the thiol alkylating agent diethyl maleate (DEM, 0.6 mL/kg, i.p.) resulted in depletion of 85% of hepatic GSH at 6 hr post-DEM, with complete GSH recovery observed at 24 hr post-DEM. Co-administration of BSO and DEM (1000 mg/kg, 0.6 mL/kg, respectively) substantially depleted gill GSH and eliminated detectable liver GSH. Following BSO/DEM, GSH recovery in hepatic mitochondria occurred more rapidly than did liver cytosolic GSH. gamma-Glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS) activities were comparable in the 10,000 g supernatants of catfish liver and gills (204 +/- 21 and 268 +/- 20 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively) whereas gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) activity was not detected in the 600 g post-nuclear fraction of either liver or gills. In conclusion, i.p. administration of DEM was an effective means for achieving short-term hepatic GSH depletion in channel catfish, whereas co-administration of BSO and DEM elicited prolonged and extensive hepatic GSH depletion in this species. Like rodents, channel catfish maintained physiologically distinct hepatic mitochondrial and cytosolic GSH pools, and also regulated hepatic GSH levels by in situ hepatic GSH biosynthesis. However, unlike rodents, there was no evidence for a labile hepatic cytosolic GSH pool in channel catfish. These similarities and differences need to be considered when designing toxicological studies involving the GSH pathway in channel catfish and possibly other fish species.