DETECTION OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE-PROTEIN ADDUCTS IN RAT-LIVER AND PLASMA

Trichloroethylene is an industrial chemical with widespread occupation al exposure and is a major environmental contaminant. In a Western blo t using antiserum that recognizes trichloroethylene covalently bound t o protein, a single 50 kDa microsomal adduct was detected in the liver s of trichloroethylene-treated Sprague-Dawley rats. To determine if tr ichloroethylene-protein adducts could be detected in blood, plasma pro teins were immunoaffinity purified using an antidichloroacetyl column. A single 50 kDa protein was detected in the affinity-purified fractio n in a Western blot using dichloroacetyl antiserum. This protein was a lso immunochemically reactive with anticytochrome P450 2E1 antibodies. The 50 kDa trichloroethylene-protein adduct may be formed in the live r and released into the blood following exposure to trichloroethylene. The significance of adduct formation with respect to trichloroethylen e toxicity remains to be established; however, the data suggest that t his approach may be useful in the investigation of trichloroethylene-p rotein adducts and adverse effects following exposure. (C) 1997 Elsevi er Science Ireland Ltd.