title: Effects of inhaled ethylene oxide on the lens glutathione redox cycle in rats.
abstract: The effects of chronic ethylene oxide (EtO) inhalation on the lens glutathione redox cycle were investigated. When Wistar male rats were exposed to 500 ppm EtO for 6 h a day, 3 times a week for 13 weeks, glutathione reductase decreased significantly in the lens while glutathione peroxidase did not. Glutathione reductase activity decreased time dependently, by as much as 81% after 13 weeks. In spite of changes in the glutathione redox cycle, reduced and oxidized glutathione levels were not affected. Our results raise the possibility that EtO inhalation may produce a cataract via changes in the glutathione redox cycle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujishiro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000818:Animals; D003459:Crystallins / Q000378:metabolism; D005027:Ethylene Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D003459:Crystallins; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D005978:Glutathione; D005027:Ethylene Oxide