Effects of toluene and n-hexane on rat synaptosomal membrane fluidity and integral enzyme activities

The effects of toluene and n-hexane on rat synaptosomal membrane fluidity and the integral enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and ATPase were studied in vitro. The synaptosome membranes were isolated in Percoll and sucrose gradients. After adding toluene and n-hexane to the incubation mixture (37 degrees) in 2,4,6 and 8 mM concentrations, the fluidity changes were measured by the lateral pyrene diffusion method from Percoll-isolated membranes, and the ATPase and acetylcholinesterase activities were determined from both synaptosome isolations. Addition of toluene caused a linearly correlated increase of the synaptosomal membrane fluidity and a linear decrease of the AChE activity. The ATPase activity did not decrease linearly but dose-dependently. In contrast to the effects of toluene in vitro, addition of n-hexane in the same concentration range had no comparable influence on membrane fluidity nor on the activities of both integral enzymes despite its even higher lipid/water partition coefficient. Toluene increases synaptosomal membrane fluidity and at the same time inhibits the integral enzymes, probably by disturbing the lipid/protein interaction.