Role of glutathione and reactive oxygen intermediates in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced immune suppression in C57Bl/6 mice.

Recent developments in basic immunology have revealed the importance of glutathione (GSH) and cellular redox balance in the generation of an immune response. In the liver, it has been shown that exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters cellular GSH and reactive oxygen intermediate (ROI) production. We have tested the hypothesis that TCDD mediates the suppression of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to alloantigen by increasing oxidative stress. Total cellular GSH, GSSG, and GSH-protein adducts were analyzed by HPLC. Changes in intracellular GSH and ROI were simultaneously measured in isolated hepatocytes and individual subpopulations of spleen cells (CD4+, CD8+, B220+, and Mac-1+) following in vivo exposure to TCDD and antigenic challenge with P815 mastocytoma cells. Monochlorobimane was utilized to measure GSH levels, and two fluorescent probes were used to evaluate ROI levels: dichlorofluoroscein diacetate to monitor peroxides and dihydroethidine to assess superoxide anion. In hepatocytes, in vivo treatment with TCDD resulted in a transient, 2-fold increase in GSH, a 50% decrease in peroxide levels and a small (20-40%) decrease in superoxide anion levels. Although alloantigen challenge resulted in increased GSH and peroxide in spleen cells, in vivo exposure to TCDD had no effect on splenic ROI levels, nor did it consistently alter GSH levels in any subpopulation of spleen cells examined. Moreover, in vivo treatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine failed to affect the immune suppression caused by TCDD. These results suggest to us that although TCDD perturbs cellular redox balance in the liver, it does not exacerbate or diminish the normal increased GSH and ROI which occur in the spleen in response to antigenic challenge.