Organ-specific effects of naphthalene on tissue peroxidation, glutathione peroxidases and superoxide dismutase in the rat.

Male, weanling Blue-Spruce rats were treated with naphthalene (p.o.) in defined dose increments up to 750 mg/kg body weight over 9 weeks. At necropsy, treated rats showed a 20% decrease in body weight compared to controls. Naphthalene treatment resulted in enhanced peroxidation (p less than 0.001) only in the liver. This increased peroxidation was associated with reductions (p less than 0.05) in the activity of the selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase in hepatic cytosolic fractions and an associated increase (p less than 0.05) in the selenium-independent glutathione peroxidase. No increase in peroxidation was observed in the lung, eye or heart of these rats and the activities of the selenoenzyme and the selenium-independent glutathione peroxidases were also unaffected by naphthalene in these organs. Naphthalene also did not affect superoxide dismutase activity in any of the organs examined. Thus, in addition to the known effects of naphthalene on tissue glutathione, naphthalene-induced reductions in the selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase can also contribute to peroxidation in the liver and must be considered as a contributing factor in naphthalene toxicity in vivo.