Active oxygen metabolites and their action in the hepatocyte. Studies on chemiluminescence responses and alkane production.

"Oxidative stress" takes place in animal tissues when the balance between the cellular defense mechanisms (glutathione cycle, superoxide dismutase, catalase, vitamin E, etc.) and conditions capable of triggering oxidative reactions is altered. The oxidative reactions which occur under a variety of conditions were assessed by two non-invasive methods, low-level chemiluminescence and volatile hydrocarbon production. Oxidative stress induced by hyperoxia or organic hydroperoxides in isolated hepatocytes or the perfused liver, respectively, is accompanied by low-level chemiluminescence, the intensity of which is enhanced upon perturbation of the glutathione cycle system, i.e., glutathione depletion and/or selenium deficiency. Oxidative stress during redox cycling of paraquat, when infused into the perfused liver, is not accompanied by light emission, whereas menadione, a substance also capable of redox cycling, was found to elicit photoemission under similar conditions. The basal rates of ethane release by the perfused liver are enhanced during oxidative conditions such as metabolism of hydroperoxides, paraquat redox cycling, and ethanol oxidation. Alkane release during the latter involves the participation of alcohol dehydrogenase and further products of ethanol oxidation, i.e., acetaldehyde, as well as free radicals in some stage of the process. In vivo ethane release by animals with adjuvant arthritis was found higher than in controls, presumably due to a systemic response of liver to inflammation.