Retinol binding protein in plasma to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of rats treated with CCl4

Retinol binding protein (RBP) in plasma of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was monitored to clarify if RBP is available for the evaluation of the drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Blood was withdrawn by heart puncture at 0 hr and 12 hr after i.p. administration of CCl4 (0.2 ml/kg) to rats. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in plasma significantly increased at 12 hr after CCl4 administration, compared with the control, while RBP in plasma significantly decreased. On the other hand, albumin in plasma was unaffected at 12 hr after CCl4 administration. Thus RBP seems to monitor the different aspects in the drug-induced hepatotoxicity from LDH and ALT, and from the viewpoint of protein synthesis in the liver, to be more sensitively affected by the drug-induced hepatotoxicity than albumin.