Tri-n-butyltin-induced change in cellular level of glutathione in rat thymocytes: a flow cytometric study

Since some of organotins, accumulated in edible mollusks of aquatic environ ments, exert a variety of toxic actions on experimental animals, it causes concern for the health of humans. We examined the effects of tri-n-butyltin chloride (TBT) and other organotins (triethyltin chloride, trimethyltin ch loride, triphenyltin chloride and tetrabutyltin) on cellular content of glu tathione (GSH) in rat thymocytes using a flow cytometer to further characte rize the toxicity of TBT. When the cells were incubated with TBT at concent rations of 3 nM or more for 15 min, the cellular content of GSH dose-depend ently decreased. However. it completely or partly recovered until 180 min e ven in the continued presence of TBT. This recovery was temperature-sensiti ve, suggesting an involvement of metabolic process. The efficacy of TBT to decrease the cellular content of GSH was greater than those of other organo tins. Results suggest that TBT and some organotins at environmentally relev ant (nanomolar) concentrations significantly reduce the cellular content of GSH, suggesting that they increase the vulnerability to some biological an d chemical insults. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reser ved.