Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Antioxidant perturbations in the olfactory mucosa of alachlor-treated rats.

Authors: Burman, Dawn M; Shertzer, Howard G; Senft, Albert P; Dalton, Timothy P; Genter, Mary Beth

Published In Biochem Pharmacol, (2003 Nov 01)

Abstract: The chloracetanilide herbicide alachlor (2-chloro-2',6'-diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl)acetanilide) induces olfactory mucosal tumors in rats following chronic dietary exposure. Previous reports demonstrated that alachlor exposure was associated with depletion of glutathione (GSH) in liver in vivo and in vitro, but did not address this issue in the target tissue for the carcinogenic response. In this study we investigated a potential oxidative stress pathway in olfactory tissue by examining perturbations in olfactory mucosal antioxidants. Male Long-Evans rats were fed alachlor for up to 10 days (10-126 mg/kg per day), and intracellular reduced GSH and ascorbate levels were measured in olfactory mucosa. Both GSH and ascorbate rapidly decreased in olfactory mucosa following alachlor exposure, with a subsequent increase in both antioxidants to approximately 160% of control levels in the high dose group, and recovery of GSH to control levels in all groups by 10 days. Using Western blot analysis, we found that the modifier subunit of the rate-limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis, glutamate-cysteine ligase, increased in olfactory mucosa and remained elevated (126 mg/kg per day group). Two ascorbate transporters were detected by RT-PCR in olfactory mucosa, but neither appeared to be upregulated by alachlor exposure, and ascorbate synthesis was not stimulated in olfactory mucosa by alachlor treatment. Dietary exposure to alachlor depletes olfactory mucosa antioxidants, which may contribute to DNA damage and tissue-specific tumor formation.

PubMed ID: 14563481 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Acetamides/pharmacology*; Animals; Antioxidants/pharmacology; Ascorbic Acid/metabolism; Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase/metabolism; Glutathione/metabolism; Herbicides/pharmacology*; L-Gulonolactone Oxidase; Male; Olfactory Mucosa/drug effects*; Olfactory Mucosa/enzymology; Olfactory Mucosa/metabolism; Organic Anion Transporters, Sodium-Dependent/metabolism; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Sodium-Coupled Vitamin C Transporters; Sugar Alcohol Dehydrogenases/metabolism; Symporters/metabolism

Back
to Top