Mechanism of chloroform nephrotoxicity. III. Renal and hepatic microsomal metabolism of chloroform in mice.

In vitro studies with male ICR mouse renal cortical slices have indicated that chloroform (CHCl3) is metabolized by the kidney to a nephrotoxic intermediate, possibly by a cytochrome P-450-dependent mechanism similar to that occurring in the liver. In this investigation, metabolism of 14CHCl3 by microsomes prepared from renal cortex and liver provided definitive evidence for a role of cytochrome P-450 in the renal metabolism and toxicity of CHCl3. 14CHCl3 was metabolized to 14CO2 and covalently bound radioactivity by male renal cortical microsomes; metabolism required oxygen, a NADPH regenerating system, was dependent on incubation time, microsomal protein concentration, and substrate concentration, and was inhibited by carbon monoxide. Consistent with the absence of CHCl3 nephrotoxicity in female mice, little or no metabolism of 14CHCl3 by female renal cortical microsomes was detected. CHCl3 produced a type I binding spectrum with oxidized male renal cortical and hepatic microsomes. Incubation of glutathione with microsomes and 14CHCl3 increased the amount of aqueous soluble metabolites detected with a concomitant decrease of metabolism to 14CO2 and covalently bound radioactivity, suggesting the formation of a phosgene conjugate as has been described for hepatic CHCl3 metabolism. These data support the hypothesis that renal cytochrome P-450 metabolizes CHCl3 to a nephrotoxic intermediate.