Integrated metabonomic analysis of the multiorgan effects of hydrazine toxicity in the rat

Chem Res Toxicol. 2005 Feb;18(2):115-22. doi: 10.1021/tx0498915.

Abstract

Hydrazine is a model toxin that induces both hepatotoxic and neurotoxic effects in experimental animals. The direct biochemical effects of hydrazine in kidney, liver, and brain tissue were assessed in male Sprague-Dawley rats using magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A single dose of hydrazine (90 mg/kg) resulted in changes to the biochemical composition of the liver after 24 h including an increase in triglycerides and beta-alanine, together with a decrease in hepatic glycogen, glucose, choline, taurine, and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). From histopathology measurements of liver tissue, minimal to mild hepatocyte alteration was observed in all animals at 24 h. The NMR spectra of the renal cortex at 24 h after dosing were dominated by a marked increase in the tissue concentration of 2-aminoadipate (2-AA) and beta-alanine, concomitant with depletions in TMAO, myo-inositol, choline, taurine, glutamate, and lysine. No alteration to the NMR spectral profile of the substantia nigra was observed after hydrazine administration, but perturbations to the relative concentrations of creatine, aspartate, myo-inositol, and N-acetyl aspartate were apparent in the hippocampus of hydrazine-treated animals at 24 h postdose. No overt signs of histopathological toxicity were observed in either the kidney or the brain regions examined. Elevated alanine levels were observed in all tissues indicative of a general inhibition of alanine transaminase activity. By 168 h postdose, NMR spectral profiles of treated rats appeared similar to those of matched controls for all tissue types indicative of recovery from toxic insult.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Alanine Transaminase / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Animals
  • Brain / drug effects*
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Brain / pathology
  • Hydrazines / metabolism*
  • Hydrazines / pharmacokinetics
  • Hydrazines / toxicity*
  • Kidney / drug effects*
  • Kidney / metabolism
  • Kidney / pathology
  • Liver / drug effects*
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Liver / pathology
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / methods
  • Male
  • Organ Specificity / drug effects
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Tissue Distribution

Substances

  • Hydrazines
  • hydrazine
  • Alanine Transaminase