Modulation of glutathione S-transferases and glutathione peroxidase by the anticarcinogen butylated hydroxyanisole in murine extrahepatic organs

Induction of glutathione S-transferases (GST) by the anticarcinogen butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) has been examined in lung, kidney and small intestine of male and female BALB/c mice. BHA produced maximal induction of GST in the gut and although it increased GST levels in the kidney, it had little effect on pulmonary GST. Dietary BHA induced Alpha (Ya and Yk), Mu (Yb) and Pi (Yf) class GST subunits at least 10-fold in the small intestine but, by contrast, selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity was reduced by approximately 4-fold in this organ following BHA treatment. In the kidney, all of the GST subunits, apart from Yk in males, showed modest levels of induction by BHA. However, a pronounced sex difference in the expression of renal alpha class subunits in both control and BHA-treated mice was observed, with female mice expressing approximately 4-fold greater levels of Ya and Yk than male mice. All renal GST were localized primarily in the proximal tubules. Dietary BHA was found to have the least inductive effect in the lung, where the GST were localized solely in the bronchi. The pulmonary Mu class GST subunits were induced approximately 2-fold by BHA; the expression of other GST was marginally increased by this inducer. Alpha class GST was also subject to sexual differentiation in the lung with female mice possessing higher levels of Yc and Yk than males. The Ya-type subunit was not detected in the lung nor was it induced by BHA.