Change in glutathione S-transferase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activities in the organs of mice treated with 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide or its oxidation products

Various organs or skin from male ICR mice treated interaperitoneally with 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) or its oxidation derivatives 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfoxide (CESSO) and 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfone were analysed for changes in two thiol-containing enzymes, namely glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). CEES was more potent than its oxidation derivatives with respect to the decrease in organ weight and the loss in GAPDH activity, although the reverse was found in GST induction. Whereas the induction of GST was highest in the lung after multiple interaperitoneal intoxication with CEESO (8 and 32 mg/kg), the decrease in GAPDH activity after exposure to CEES (8 mg/kg body weight) was most remarkable in the spleen, the most susceptible organ to toxicity of CEES. GST and GAPDH activities in the skin of male hairless mice exposed subcutaneously to CEES (2 mg/kg body weight) were not altered significantly at 2-hr exposure, but decreased up to 60% of that of controls at 8 hr, when oedema formation was greatest. Taken together, it appears that GAPDH activity is a more sensitive biochemical parameter than GST activity in organs of mice treated with CEES or its oxidation products.