Stimulation by cigarette smoke of glutathione peroxidase system enzyme activities in rat lung.

ABSTRACT

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of in vivo cigarette smoke exposure on glutathione peroxidase--related enzyme systems of the rat lung. These enzymes, acting in concert, are thought to be responsible for disposing of toxic lipid peroxides in pulmonary tissue. Thirty-day-old rats were exposed to thirteen cigarettes per day for 21 days with a Walton reverse-smoking exposure apparatus. After 21 days of smoke exposure, the activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were increased 34%, 24%, and 38%, respectively, over control values. This level of cigarette smoke exposure did not cause detectable histological lesions. We present the hypothesis that short-term, low-level cigarette smoke exposure is capable of initiating metabolic alterations in lung cells at exposures at which histological changes are not detectable by light microscopy.