Spontaneous and Luminol-Dependent Chemiluminescences from Tissue Preparations of Benzo[a]pyrene-Injected Mice

Chemiluminescence (CL) from tissue preparations of mice i.p. injected with and without the chemical carcinogen benzo[α]pyrene (BP) was detected by a single photon counting apparatus. The spontaneously emitted CL (spontaneous CL) and the CL after luminol addition (luminol-CL) were measured for mice with and without previous induction of their liver mixed-function oxidases (MFO) by phénobarbital. In MFO-non-induced mice, although the spontaneous CL was not notably modified by BP injection, the kidneys presented three times greater luminol-CL after BP injection. On the other hand, MFO-induced mice had higher spontaneous CL of plasma, liver, kidneys, and lungs, as well as higher luminol-CL of liver after BP injection, when compared with the respective MFO-induced but BP-non-injected mice. The luminol-CL of liver was suppressed by scavengers of active oxygen and free-radicals such as TIRON, butylhydroxytoluene and in a less extent by superoxide dismutase. The CL detected from tissue preparations of mice after BP treatment is thought to reflect the formation of oxygen radicals and electronically excited-species during BP metabolism.