In biochemical work, DL-Dithiothreitol is frequently used to protect biomolecules, denaturate proteins before acetone analysis (SDS-PAGE), and reduce disulfide bridges.

Absorption, Distribution and Excretion
Two male patients with late stage (uremic) infantile nephropathic cystinosis (INC) were treated by mouth with the reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT), at doses not exceeding 25 mg/kg body weight three times per day. Three sequential periods of observation were obtained in both patients: on thiol (8.5 months); off thiol (8-9 months); on thiol again (7 months or longer)... Whereas chemical methods are not reliable for detecting and measuring DTT in biologic fluids, preliminary evidence indicates that a silylated derivative of oxidized DTT can be detected in the urine of patients receiving DTT by mouth. This finding suggests that the thiol is absorbed and excreted.

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Metabolism / Metabolites
Two male patients with late stage (uremic) infantile nephropathic cystinosis (INC) were treated by mouth with the reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT), at doses not exceeding 25 mg/kg body weight three times per day. Three sequential periods of observation were obtained in both patients: on thiol (8.5 months); off thiol (8-9 months); on thiol again (7 months or longer)... Whereas chemical methods are not reliable for detecting and measuring DTT in biologic fluids, preliminary evidence indicates that a silylated derivative of oxidized DTT can be detected in the urine of patients receiving DTT by mouth. This finding suggests that the thiol is absorbed and excreted.

Toxicity Summary
IDENTIFICATION AND USE: 1,4-Dithiothreitol (DTT) is frequently used in biochemical experiments that involve proteins or peptides, protecting sulfhydryl groups from oxidation and reducing disulfide bonds between cysteines. It is also used in the study of disulfide exchange reactions of protein disulfides, and DTT is able to keep glutathione in the reduced state. It has been tested as experimental therapy in cystinosis or medical conditions resulting from ion or metal toxicity. HUMAN STUDIES: DTT triggers apoptosis in HL-60 cells. DTT is used in the liquefication of sputum recovered from asthma patients. Two male patients with late stage (uremic) infantile nephropathic cystinosis were treated by mouth with the reducing agent DTT, at doses not exceeding 25 mg/kg body weight three times per day. Other than nausea and vomiting at the maximum dose range, no apparent toxicity was observed. One subject died in uremia in the 24th month of the study. ANIMAL STUDIES: Depression of rat's heart and intestinal tissues by DTT severely limits its use as antioxidant to protect readily air oxidizable drugs during pharmacological testing with these standard tissue preparations. Treatment with dithiothreitol can mimic intracellular activation of the potent cytotoxin of Clostridium difficile, toxin B.

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Interactions
The extensively used thiol antioxidants (dithiothreitol, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine) in combination with hydroxycobalamine (vitamin B12) gain toxic activity in relation to human lymphocytic leukemia cell line HL60. Combined treatment with thiol and vitamin B12 was followed by early destabilization of lysosomes and apoptotic death of cells. The cytotoxic effect was abolished by caspase inhibitors. An iron-chelating agent deferoxamine partly prevented cell death, while lysosomal protease inhibitor pepstatin produced no protective effect.
Arsenic is naturally occurring toxic metalloid and drinking As2 O3 containing water are recognized to be related to increased risk of neurotoxicity, liver injury, blackfoot disease, hypertension, and cancer. On the contrary, As2 O3 has been an ancient drug used in traditional Chinese medicine with substantial anticancer activities, especially in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia as well as chronic wound healing. However, the cytotoxicity and detail mechanisms of As2 O3 action in solid cancer cells, such as oral cancer cells, are largely unknown. In this study, we have primarily cultured four pairs of tumor and nontumor cells from the oral cancer patients and treated the cells with As2 O3 alone or combined with dithiothreitol (DTT). The results showed that 0.5 uM As2 O3 plus 20 uM DTT caused a significant cell death of oral cancer cells but not the nontumor cells. Also As2 O3 plus DTT upregulated Bax and Bak, downregulated Bcl-2 and p53, caused a loss of mitochondria membrane potential in oral cancer cells. On the other way, As2 O3 also triggered endoplasmic reticulum stress and increased the levels of glucose-regulated protein 78, calpain 1 and 2. Our results suggest that DTT could synergistically enhance the effects of As2 O3 on killing oral cancer cells while nontoxic to the nontumor cells. The combination is promising for clinical practice in oral cancer therapy and worth further investigations.
It has been found previously that vitamin B12b amplifies significantly the cytotoxic effects of ascorbic acid by catalyzing the formation of reactive oxygen species, and the antioxidant dithiothreitol (DTT), in contrast to catalase, does not prevent the cytotoxicity. Therefore, in this study we examined whether B12b is able to enhance the cytotoxicity of DTT. It was revealed that B12b strongly increases the cytotoxic effect of DTT. Vitamin B12b added to DTT catalyzed the generation and drastic accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in culture medium to a concentration of 260 microM within 7 min. The extracellular oxidative burst induced by the combination of B12b and DTT (DTT + B12b) was accompanied by intracellular oxidative stress, the destabilization of lysosomes, and damage to DNA. The accumulation of DNA lesions led to the initiation of apoptotic cell death, including the activation of caspase-3 and the release of cytochrome c. The antioxidants pyruvate and catalase completely prevented the DTT + B12b-induced oxidative stress and cell death. The iron chelators desferrioxamine and phenanthroline prevented the geno- and cytotoxic action of the combination although they did not reduce the exogenous oxidative burst, indicating a key role for intracellular iron in the cytotoxicity of the combination. Thus, vitamin B12b dramatically enhances the cytotoxicity of DTT, catalyzing the generation of hydrogen peroxide and inducing extra- and intracellular oxidative stress, early destabilization of lysosomes, and iron-dependent DNA damage.
Inorganic trivalent arsenicals are vicinal thiol-reacting agents, and dithiothreitol (DTT) is a well-known dithiol agent. Interestingly, both decreasing and increasing effects of DTT on arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis have been reported. We now provide data to show that, at high concentrations, DTT, dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), and dimercaptopropanesulfonic acid (DMPS) decreased arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis in NB4 cells, a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line. In contrast, at low concentrations DTT, DMSA, and DMPS increased the arsenic trioxide-induced apoptosis. DTT at a high concentration (3 mM) decreased, whereas at a low concentration (0.1 mM), it increased the cell growth inhibition of arsenic trioxide, methylarsonous acid (MMA(III)), and dimethylarsinous acid (DMA(III)) in NB4 cells. DMSA and DMPS are currently used as antidotes for acute arsenic poisoning. These two dithiol compounds also show an inverse-hormetic effect on arsenic toxicity in terms of DNA damage, micronucleus induction, apoptosis, and colony formation in experiments using human epithelial cell lines derived from arsenic target tissues such as the kidney and bladder. With the oral administration of dithiols, the concentrations of these dithiol compounds in the human body are likely to be low. Therefore, the present results suggest the necessity of reevaluating the therapeutic effect of these dithiol compounds for arsenic poisoning.
For more Interactions (Complete) data for 1,4-Dithiothreitol (7 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

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Non-Human Toxicity Values
LD50 Mice im 108 mg/kg
LD50 Mice ip 154 mg/kg

[1]. Dithiothreitol, From Wikipedia.

1,4-dithiothreitol is the threo-diastereomer of 1,4-dimercaptobutane-2,3-diol. It has a role as a reducing agent, a chelator and a human metabolite. It is a dithiol and a 1,4-dimercaptobutane-2,3-diol.
Dithiothreitol has been reported in Homo sapiens with data available.
A reagent commonly used in biochemical studies as a protective agent to prevent the oxidation of SH (thiol) groups and for reducing disulphides to dithiols.

C4H10O2S2

154.2510

154.012

3483-12-3

DL-dithiothreitol-d6;850153-85-4;L-Dithiothreitol;16096-97-2;DL-dithiothreitol-d10;302912-05-6;DL-dithiothreitol-d10-1;203633-21-0

19001

White to off-white solid powder

1.3±0.1 g/cm3

364.5±42.0 °C at 760 mmHg

38-43ºC

174.2±27.9 °C

0.0±1.8 mmHg at 25°C

1.579

0.07

4

4

3

8

52

0

VHJLVAABSRFDPM-UHFFFAOYSA-N

InChI=1S/C4H10O2S2/c5-3(1-7)4(6)2-8/h3-8H,1-2H2

1,4-bis(sulfanyl)butane-2,3-diol

2934.99.9001

Powder      -20°C    3 years

                     4°C     2 years

In solvent   -80°C    6 months

                  -20°C    1 month

Note: (1). This product requires protection from light (avoid light exposure) during transportation and storage.  (2). Please store this product in a sealed and protected environment (e.g. under nitrogen), avoid exposure to moisture.

Room temperature (This product is stable at ambient temperature for a few days during ordinary shipping and time spent in Customs)

H2O : ≥ 200 mg/mL (~1296.60 mM)
DMSO : ~100 mg/mL (~648.30 mM)

Solubility in Formulation 1: ≥ 2.5 mg/mL (16.21 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 40% PEG300 + 5% Tween80 + 45% Saline (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 25.0 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 400 μL PEG300 and mix evenly; then add 50 μL Tween-80 to the above solution and mix evenly; then add 450 μL normal saline to adjust the volume to 1 mL.
Preparation of saline: Dissolve 0.9 g of sodium chloride in 100 mL ddH₂ O to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 2: ≥ 2.5 mg/mL (16.21 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% (20% SBE-β-CD in Saline) (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 25.0 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 900 μL of 20% SBE-β-CD physiological saline solution and mix evenly.
Preparation of 20% SBE-β-CD in Saline (4°C，1 week): Dissolve 2 g SBE-β-CD in 10 mL saline to obtain a clear solution.

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Solubility in Formulation 3: ≥ 2.5 mg/mL (16.21 mM) (saturation unknown) in 10% DMSO + 90% Corn Oil (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution.
For example, if 1 mL of working solution is to be prepared, you can add 100 μL of 25.0 mg/mL clear DMSO stock solution to 900 μL of corn oil and mix evenly.

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Solubility in Formulation 4: 100 mg/mL (648.30 mM) in PBS (add these co-solvents sequentially from left to right, and one by one), clear solution; with ultrasonication.

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 (Please use freshly prepared in vivo formulations for optimal results.)