Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether intracellular metallothionein (MT) protects against acetaminophen hepatotoxicity. MT-I/II knockout (MT-null) and control mice were given acetaminophen (150–500 mg/kg i.p.), and liver injury was assessed 24 h later. MT-null mice were more susceptible than controls to acetaminophen-induced lethality and hepatotoxicity, as evidenced by elevated serum enzyme activities and histopathology. Zinc pretreatment, a method of MT induction, protected against acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in control mice, but not in MT-null mice. The susceptibility of MT-null mice to acetaminophen hepatotoxicity was not due to the increased acetaminophen bioactivation, as cytochrome P-450 enzymes, and acetaminophen-reactive metabolites in bile and urine were not increased in MT-null mice. Western blots of liver cytosol indicated that acetaminophen covalent binding at 4 h increased with acetaminophen dose, but there was no consistent difference between control and MT-null mice. Acetaminophen injection depleted cellular glutathione similarly in both control and MT-null mice, but produced more lipid peroxidation in MT-null mice, as evidenced by the abundance of thiobarbiturate-reactive substances, and by immunohistochemical localization of 4-hydroxynonenal and malondialdehyde protein adducts. MT-null hepatocytes were more susceptible than control cells to oxidative stress and cytotoxicity produced byN-acetylbenzoquinoneimine, a reactive metabolite of acetaminophen, as determined by oxidation of 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate and lactate dehydrogenase leakage. In summary, this study demonstrated that MT deficiency renders animals more vulnerable to acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. The increased sensitivity does not appear to be due to increased acetaminophen activation, glutathione depletion, or covalent binding, but appears to be associated with the antioxidant role of MT.