We describe a rapid kinetic method for the automated determination of the xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase, and its application to the study of cisplatin-induced toxicity. Liver, kidney and urine from control and cisplatin-treated rats were used as the source of enzymes. Advantages over conventional spectrophotometric methods include speed (25 assays in 4 min), small sample size, and improved precision. We show that glutathione S-transferase activity in liver is slightly reduced by cisplatin treatment, whereas all three enzymes are reduced in the kidney. Glutathione-S-transferase activity appeared in urine between the third and seventh days after cisplatin injection. Using these enzyme activities in cisplatin-treated rats, we suggest that the renal enzymes are more sensitive markers of toxicity than hepatic enzymes. © 1990 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists.
