Abstract
To evaluate the cutaneous injury in liver damaged rats by toluene application to the skin, toluene(35mg/㎤) was sequentially applied for 5 days to the dorsal skin of liver damaged rats with $CCl_4$ (6 times ever other day:0.1$m\ell$/100 g body weight-50% $CCl_4$in olive oil). The cutaneous ultrastructural changes were unexoectably not observed in liver from $CCl_4$-treated rats although necrotic liver damage appeared under light microscope. In these animals by the application of toluene to rat skin the cutaneous xanthine oxidase activity was significantly increased(p<0.05), but cytochrome P450 content was not different from that of the control or only $CCl_4$-treated rats. On the other hand, the cutaneous superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in liver damaged animals were significantly respectively(p<0.05, p<0.001), decreased by toluene application to the skin compared with control and especially the former enzyme activity was significantty decreased(p<0.01), compared with that of liver damaged rate rat but glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase activities were not significantly different from those of the control or liver damaged rats. Futhermore, the reduced gluathione content of skin was also significantly decreased by toluene application to the liver damaged animals. In conclusion, the great deposits of cerrous peroxide and ultramorphological changes in skin tissue of liver damaged animals by toluene application may be responsible for the oxygen free radical.