Xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in carp (Cyprinus carpio) liver, spleen, and head kidney following experimental Listeria monocytogenes infection.

Infection of carp with Listeria monocytogenes 4b resulted in decreased liver, spleen, and head kidney enzyme activities, involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics. After infection, cytochrome P-450 levels and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity were decreased while conjugation enzymes remained unaffected. The maximum decrease for phase I enzymes occurred on d 3. This loss of monooxygenase levels and activity could not be directly correlated with an increase in the number of organisms, as consistently high bacterial counts were observed in all three organs during infection. The effect of L. monocytogenes infection was also measured in carp exposed to 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA). Cytochrome P-450 levels and EROD activity were significantly reduced, especially on d 3. A significant decreased activity of conjugation enzymes such as glutathione S-transferase (GST) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) was also observed for all days studied. Listeria infection inhibited MCA-induced increases in xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme activities. These results indicate that infection may have deleterious effects on basal cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase levels. Furthermore, MCA treatment aggravates the insult to xenobiotic biotransformation enzymes by L. monocytogenes infection, by impairing a number of detoxification enzymes. These findings could result in significant changes in the susceptibility of fish to pollutants.