CYTOTOXICITY OF XENOBIOTICS AND EXPRESSION OF GLUTATHIONE-S-TRANSFERASES IN IMMORTALIZED RAT HEPATOCYTE CELL-LINES

1 Immortalised rat hepatocyte cell lines are more sensitive to the cyt otoxicity of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and ethacrynic acid than prim ary cultures of hepatocytes. 2 Class alpha glutathione S-transferases are not expressed in immortalised hepatocyte cell lines. Class pi glut athione S-transferase expression is elevated in the immortalised cell lines compared with freshly isolated hepatocytes, but it is not as hig h as in the HTC rat hepatoma cell line. 3 Immortalised hepatocyte cell lines may provide a sensitive model system for detecting cytotoxicity associated with xenobiotics which are detoxified by glutathione S-tra nsferases.