title: Role for an episulfonium ion in S-(2-chloroethyl)-DL-cysteine-induced cytotoxicity and its reaction with glutathione.
abstract: The cysteine S conjugate of 1,2-dichloroethane, S-(2-chloroethyl)-DL-cysteine (CEC), is hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, and mutagenic. To determine the cellular and chemical mechanisms involved in CEC-induced toxicity and to assess the role of an episulfonium ion, the effect of CEC on the viability of isolated rat hepatocytes was studied. CEC addition resulted in both a time- and concentration-dependent loss of cell viability. Depletion of intracellular glutathione concentrations (greater than 70%) and inhibition of microsomal Ca2+ transport and Ca2+-ATPase activity preceded the loss of cell viability, and initiation of lipid peroxidation paralleled the loss of viability. The depletion of glutathione concentrations was partially attributable to a reaction between glutathione and CEC to form S-[2-(DL-cysteinyl)ethyl]glutathione, which was identified by NMR and mass spectrometry. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine, vitamin E, and N,N'-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine protected against the loss of cell viability. N,N'-Diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine inhibited CEC-initiated lipid peroxidation but did not protect against cell death at 4 h, indicating that lipid peroxidation was not the cause of cell death. The analogues S-ethyl-L-cysteine, S-(3-chloropropyl)-DL-cysteine, and S-(2-hydroxyethyl)-L-cysteine, which cannot form an episulfonium ion, were not cytotoxic, thus demonstrating a role for an episulfonium ion in the cytotoxicity associated with exposure to CEC and, possibly, 1,2-dichloroethane. These results show that an alteration in Ca2+ homeostasis and the generation of an electrophilic intermediate may be involved in the mechanism of cell death.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003545:Cysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D005978:Glutathione / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007700:Kinetics; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D051381:Rats; D013452:Sulfonium Compounds
chemical_list: D013452:Sulfonium Compounds; C045285:S-(2-chloroethyl)cysteine; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D005978:Glutathione; D003545:Cysteine; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide