The role of acrolein in allyl alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation and liver cell damage in mice.

Male NMRI mice were fed a sucrose diet for 48 hr in order to reduce the hepatic glutathione content and to level off its diurnal variation. After administration of allyl alcohol (AA: 1.1 mmol/kg), hepatic glutathione (24.3 +/- 7.0 nmol GSH/mg protein) was almost totally lost within the first 15 min (less than 0.5 nmol GSH/mg protein). Subsequently, a massive lipid peroxidation was observed, i.e. the animals exhaled 414 +/- 186 nmol ethane/kg/hr compared to 0.9 +/- 0.8 of controls, and the hepatic TBA-reactive compounds had increased from 55 +/- 16 pmol/mg protein in controls to 317 +/- 163 after 1 hr. Concomitantly, a 40-45% loss of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid) in the liver lipids was observed. About 80% of the cytosolic alcohol dehydrogenase activity and about 50% of the microsomal P450-content were destroyed. In vivo-inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase by pyrazole or induction of aldehyde dehydrogenase by phenobarbital abolished AA-induced liver damage as well as glutathione depletion and lipid peroxidation, while inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase by cyanamide made a subtoxic dose of AA (0.60 mmol/kg) highly toxic. These results strongly favour the importance of acrylic acid formation as an additional detoxification pathway. Enhanced hepatic levels of glutathione protected in vivo against the damaging effects of AA. Depletion of the liver glutathione content by phorone or diethylmaleate alone caused marginally enhanced lipid peroxidation (phorone) but not liver cell damage. Monooxygenase inhibitors (metyrapone, diethyldithiocarbamate, alpha-naphthoflavone) or an inducer (benz(a)pyrene) did not affect AA-induced toxicity. The ferric iron chelator desferoxaminemethanesulfonate prevented AA-induced lipid peroxidation and liver cell damage in vivo. In vitro, acrolein alone failed to initiate lipid peroxidation in soy bean phospholipid liposomes or in mouse liver microsomes. Thus, acrolein not only impairs the glutathione defense system but also directly destroys cellular proteins and evokes lipid peroxidation by an indirect iron-depending mechanism.

NADH-dependent reductive stress and ferritin-bound iron in allyl alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation in vivo: the protective effect of vitamin E.

The role of iron in allyl alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation and hepatic necrosis was investigated in male NMRI mice in vivo. Ferrous sulfate (0.36 mmol/kg) or a low dose of ally alcohol (0.6 mmol/kg) itself caused only minor lipid peroxidation and injury to the liver within 1 h. When FeSO4 was administered before allyl alcohol, lipid peroxidation and liver injury were potentiated 50-100-fold. Pretreatment with DL-tocopherol acetate 5 h before allyl alcohol protected dose-dependently against allyl alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation and liver injury in vivo. Products of allyl alcohol metabolism, i.e. NADH and acrolein, both mobilized trace amounts of iron from ferritin in vitro. Catalytic concentrations of FMN greatly facilitated the NADH-induced reductive release of ferritin-bound iron. NADH effectively reduced ferric iron in solution. Consequently, a mixture of NADH and Fe3+ or NADH and ferritin induced lipid peroxidation in mouse liver microsomes in vitro. Our results suggest that the reductive stress (excessive NADH formation) during allyl alcohol metabolism can release ferrous iron from ferritin and can reduce chelated ferric iron. These findings provide a rationale for the strict iron-dependency of allyl alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation and hepatotoxicity in mice in vivo and document iron mobilization and reduction as one of several essential steps in the pathogenesis.