Oxidative stress and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in human hepatocytes treated with trichloroethylene

L02 human hepatocytes (L02 cells) were grown in RPMI 1640 culture medium, six groups of cells were treated with various trichloroethylene (TCE) concentrations for 24 h, and five groups of cells were treated with a single TCE concentration (1 mM L−1) for different time periods. After hepatocytes were treated with TCE, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and nitric oxide (NO) levels were determined and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression was measured with real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. In addition, the enzyme activities of ALT, AST and LDH in TCE-treated groups were also monitored. TCE treatment produced increases in NO levels and iNOS expression in L02 hepatocytes. In addition, the levels of MDA, ALT, AST, and LDH in the TCE-treated group were higher than in control, but SOD activity was decreased. Data indicated that TCE treatment induced oxidative stress and iNOS expression as well as some enzyme activity alterations in human hepatocytes, suggesting that the toxicity of TCE on hepatocytes might be related to oxidative stress and NO production.