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Biomedical subjects

F Oesch

Publications and source records attributed to F Oesch.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The distribution of carcinogen metabolizing enzymes in the mouse liver: comparison of parenchymal and non-parenchymal cell populations.

The distribution of aminopyrine N-demethylase (APND), ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (ERRD), epoxide hydrolase (EH) and glutathione transferase (GST) activities in parenchymal (PC) and non-parenchymal (NPC) cell populations of control and Aroclor 1254-treated C57BL/6N and DBA/2N mice was determined. Furthermore, the metabolism of benzo(a)-pyrene (BP) in PC and NPC of both Aroclor 1254-treated mice strains was examined. Measurable activities of all enzymes investigated were detected in control PC as well as NPC of both mice strains; in all instances the PC possessed greater enzyme activities than did the NPC. The PC and NPC of DBA/2N of C57BL/6N mice. In NPC of both strains a low ratio of oxidative (APND and ERRD) to post-oxidative (EH and GST) enzyme activities was observed. Hence, NPC of C57BL/6N and DBA/2N mice might have a relatively lower ability to oxidize xenobiotics to reactive electrophiles and a greater ability to conjugate or hydrolyze those products that may be formed. Treatment with Aroclor 1254 enhanced all the enzyme activities measured in PC and NPC of both mice strains with the exception of ERRD in PC and NPC of DBA/2N mice. This is due to the fact that the induction process of ERRD by aromatic and halogenated aromatic compounds such as Aroclor 1254 depends upon the presence of a cytosolic receptor with a high affinity for this type of inducers and the DBA/2N mice have a very poor affinity receptor. After incubating BP with PC or NPC of Aroclor 1254-treated C57BL/6N mice significant amounts of 9,10-dihydrodiol, 4,5-dihydrodiol, 7,8-dihydrodiol, quinone, 9-hydroxy and 3-hydroxy derivatives of BP were detected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aminopyrine N-Demethylase↗
PubMed1987

Individual differences in DNA repair capacities in man.

After metabolic activation of benzo[a]pyrene to the 7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide, this ultimate carcinogen preferentially binds to the exocyclic amino group of guanine. In order to investigate possible interindividual differences in the capacity of repair of the DNA adducts formed from benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol 9,10-epoxide, their persistence in freshly isolated lymphocytes of several donors was studied. The results show a surprisingly large interindividual variation in DNA adduct formation and their persistence in freshly isolated lymphocytes. This range included several individuals with an apparent complete lack of repair capability for these adducts. Compared with controls, smokers showed on average a lower initial extent of the DNA adducts formed from benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol 9,10-epoxide, suggesting induction of inactivating enzymes. However, one of the smokers was an individual with apparent complete lack of repair for the DNA adducts formed from benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol 9,10-epoxide, combining exposure to benzo[a]pyrene with a long persistence of the DNA adducts formed from benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol 9,10-epoxide. The investigation of the DNA repair of methylnitrosourea-induced lesions showed significant interindividual differences in the adaptive response triggered by repeated exposure to the carcinogen, whereas the interindividual variations after single doses were low.

7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide↗
PubMed1987

Species differences in enzymes controlling reactive epoxides.

Activities of enzymes involved in the metabolic formation and catabolism of epoxides were determined in liver subcellular preparations from 11 mammalian species and various strains of mice. The most conspicuous finding was that the activities of the microsomal epoxide hydrolase were clearly lower in the mouse than in the other species. This invited the working hypothesis that epoxides may be involved in mouse liver carcinogenesis. The carcinogens may be metabolised themselves to reactive epoxides or they may modify the metabolism of epoxides formed from endogenous or other foreign compounds. To examine the former point, phenobarbital, DDT (1,1-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroethane), lindane and benzo(a)pyrene were investigated for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium using as the carcinogen-metabolising system subcellular liver preparations from animals in which these compounds efficiently induce liver tumours and from resistant animals. Phenobarbital, DDT and lindane were not mutagenic under any conditions, including those where microsomal epoxide hydrolase was also inhibited. However, a DDT metabolite, 1,1-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethane was mutagenic in strain TA98, when norharman was added to the metabolising system, rat liver postmitochondrial fraction. Benzo(a)pyrene, which efficiently induces liver tumours in male but not in female newborn C3HeB/FeJ X A/J mice, was similarly activated by liver preparations from male and female animals. This was true with and without pretreatment of the mice with an inducer of cytochrome P-448. Also, activities and inducibilities of monooxygenase, epoxide hydrolase and glutathione transferase (toward benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene 4,5-oxide, respectively) were indistinguishable between males and females. Therefore, differences in the metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene do not appear to be the reason for the sex difference in tumour susceptibility. Likewise, mouse strains with high and low frequencies of spontaneous and chemically-induced liver tumours did not appreciably differ in their hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase activities. The low level of this activity therefore cannot constitute the critical factor for the high tumour susceptibility of certain strains of mice. However the statement does not preclude potentiation of the susceptibility toward particular carcinogens owing to this metabolic trait of the mouse.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Significance of various enzymes in the control of reactive metabolites.

Most chemical carcinogens are relatively inert and need metabolic activation to the ultimately carcinogenic species. The concentration of such species is controlled by several different enzymes. Especially well studied is the important group of enzymes responsible for the control of reactive epoxides. Many natural, as well as man-made foreign compounds, including pharmaceuticals, possess olefinic or aromatic double bonds. Such compounds can be transformed to epoxides by microsomal monooxygenases present in many mammalian organs. By virtue of their electrophilic reactivity, such epoxides may spontaneously react with nucleophilic centres in the cell and thus covalently bind to DNA, RNA and protein. Such alterations of critical cellular macromolecules may disturb the normal biochemistry of the cell and lead to cytotoxic, allergic and/or carcinogenic effects. Whether such effects will be manifested depends on one hand, on the chemical reactivity as well as other properties such as geometry and lipophilicity of the epoxide in question. On the other hand, enzymes controlling the concentration of such epoxides represent a further important contributing factor: for example, several microsomal monooxygenases exist, differing in substrate specificity. With respect to large substrates, certain monooxygenases preferentially attack at a specific site different from that attacked by others. Some of these pathways lead to reactive products, whilst others are detoxification pathways. Moreover, enzymes metabolizing such epoxides represent a further determining factor. These enzymes include epoxide hydrolases and glutathione transferases. These enzymes are not solely inactivating but can also in some cases act as activating enzymes. Finally, precursor-sequestering enzymes contribute indirectly but substantially to the control of reactive metabolites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Expression and inducibility of drug-metabolizing enzymes in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of rat liver during nitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis.

The expression, inducibility, and regulation of four different cytochrome (cyt.) P-450 isoenzymes (PB1, PB2, MC1, and MC2) NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, the glutathione transferases (GSTs) B and C and microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEHb) have been studied during nitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis using immunohistochemical techniques. The investigations revealed basic differences in the expression of the individual drug metabolizing enzymes in the course of neoplastic development. While the two GSTs and mEHb were increased in all preneoplastic and benign neoplastic lesions, the levels of the distinct cyt. P-450 isoenzymes were characteristically different from each other. Following initial changes in the expression of these enzymes in early preneoplastic lesions (i.e., increase of cyt. P-450 PB1 versus slight decrease of the other cyt. P-450 isoenzymes), a continuous reduction of all cyt. P-450 isoenzymes was observed during the further course of hepatocarcinogenesis. In progressed neoplastic nodules, all cyt. P-450-isoenzymes and NADPH cyt. P-450 reductase were decreased to varying extents. Treatment of animals with inducers of the monooxygenase system, such as phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene and polychlorinated biphenyls, led to a rather heterogenous pattern of enzyme alterations in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions. Following administration of phenobarbital, some islets responded to the same degree as the surrounding tissue, others were less or not at all inducible and a few of the lesions showed a prominent increase in cyt. P-450 PB2 and NADPH-cyt. P-450 reductase levels. The interesting finding that these two enzymes always showed concurrent changes may be indicative of a common regulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1987

A fluorometric assay for quantitating phenol sulfotransferase activities in homogenates of cells and tissues.

A new, rapid, and sensitive method for assaying phenol sulfotransferase activity toward 2-naphthol is described. The product 2-naphthyl sulfate is quantitated fluorometrically. Optimal wavelengths for excitation and emission were determined by recording the three-dimensional fluorescence spectra of the substrate and the product. The new method is applicable to crude cell or tissue homogenates as well as to further purified preparations. A comparison to another widely used method is given to point out the advantages provided by the new procedure. In particular, sensitivity and accuracy of both methods are evaluated and the influence of interfering substances on both systems is compared. These results clearly indicate the superiority of the new method.

Arylsulfotransferase↗
PubMed1987

Immobilized glycolipids from human diploid fibroblasts inhibit DNA synthesis of cultured human fibroblasts.

Several previous studies have shown that glycolipids isolated from plasma membranes of cultured cells and added to cells in culture inhibit the growth rate in a concentration-dependent fashion. In order to investigate the possible involvement of glycolipids in the growth regulation of normal cells by cell-cell contacts, we tested the effect of immobilized glycolipids, isolated from human fibroblasts, on the DNA synthesis of freshly seeded fibroblasts. Gangliosides inhibited DNA synthesis to a great extent, whereas neutral glycolipids had only a minor effect. The degree of inhibition of DNA synthesis by immobilized gangliosides depended both on the cell density of the cultures from which the gangliosides were isolated and on the pretreatment of the immobilized gangliosides: Preincubation with DMEM without FCS of immobilized gangliosides, isolated from confluent cultures, resulted in a 75% inhibition of growth rate of embryonal human lung fibroblasts (FH109) cultured on immobilized gangliosides. Under the same conditions, gangliosides from sparse cultures reduced the growth rate by about 30%. On the other hand, the degree of inhibition exerted by immobilized gangliosides isolated from confluent cultures was found to be greatly reduced by preincubation with DMEM with FCS, whereas the slight inhibition of growth rate, exerted by gangliosides from sparse cultures, was found to be reversed into a slight stimulation of growth rate after preincubation with complete medium. Concomitantly with the reduction of the inhibition of DNA synthesis, it was found that the complete medium, used for preincubation of the gangliosides, was no longer able to support DNA synthesis to the same extent as untreated complete medium. The data suggest that gangliosides bind growth-supporting factors of the serum, gangliosides isolated from sparse cultures being more potent in the binding of these molecules than gangliosides isolated from dense cultures.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1987

Coordinate induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation activity and cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activity.

The effect of four hypolipidemic compounds (tiadenol, clofibrate, acetylsalicylic acid, 1-benzylimidazole) on the specific activities of peroxisomal beta-oxidation and cytosolic and microsomal epoxide hydrolase of rat liver was investigated. Since specific activity of cytosolic epoxide hydrolase from outbred Sprague-Dawley rats showed large interindividual variations (approximately 38-fold), induction studies were performed with inbred Fischer F-344 rats, which showed only low interindividual variations (approximately 2-fold). Clofibrate, tiadenol and acetylsalicylic acid caused a 8-, 13- and 4.5-fold induction of cEH and a 13-, 19- and 5-fold induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation activity, respectively. Microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity was only slightly increased (less than 1.5-fold). 1-Benzylimidazole induced both cytosolic epoxide hydrolase and peroxisomal beta-oxidation activity about 2-fold, whereas microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity was increased about 4-fold. Increase in cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activity was not due to enzyme activation as demonstrated by in vitro studies. On the other hand, these in vitro studies showed that the increase in microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity by 1-benzylimidazole may partially be due to activation of the enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Plasma membrane glycoproteins covalently bound to silica beads as a model for molecular studies of cell-cell interactions in culture.

In previous studies, we have shown that plasma membrane glycoproteins are of major importance in the density-dependent regulation of growth of normal diploid fibroblasts. Due to the hydrophobic portions of these molecules, functional studies in cell culture are often difficult to perform and to interpret. Specifically, the addition of these molecules in soluble form to cell culture, after depletion of detergents needed for their solubilization, leads to aggregation and internalization. Therefore, we developed a method for the covalent immobilization of the solubilized plasma membrane proteins to derivatized silica beads for further investigations on the molecular nature of the active molecules. The addition of immobilized plasma membrane glycoproteins to sparsely seeded human fibroblasts resulted in cellular reactions similar to those found in confluent cell cultures (strongly reduced cell proliferation; high collagen type III synthesis). The method consists in the derivatization of silica beads (Lichrosphere Si 500, 10 microns) with isothiocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane. Amino-groups react with the SCN group under physiological conditions, resulting in a stable linkage of amino-group bearing molecules with the silica beads. Due to the easy handling of the silica beads (e.g. washing by short centrifugation steps), the mild coupling conditions, and the stable bondings this system is highly suited for functional studies of molecules involved in cell-cell interactions.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1987

Tricyclic drugs: potent mutagenicity of traces of a nitroarene formed in the reaction of opipramol with nitrite.

The tricyclic psychotropic drug opipramol (Insidon) reacts in vitro with sodium nitrite in acidic solution to form products including mutagens for Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100. Two aspects are particularly noteworthy. The strong mutagenicity of the crude reaction mixture is almost exclusively due to a compound which is present only in trace quantities (less than 0.1%). This mutagen was identified as a nitroarene, 4-[3-(2-nitro-9-(10H)-acridinon-10-yl)propyl]-1-piperazine-ethanol . Hence, while the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds from the interaction of nitrogen-containing compounds with nitrite is well known, the present study demonstrates the formation of a highly mutagenic C-nitro compound in the presence of nitrite.

Acridines↗
PubMed1987

A benzo[a]pyrene metabolite-DNA adduct occurring in the activating cell but not in exogenous DNA.

[3H]Benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and salmon sperm DNA were incubated with hepatocytes from 5,6-benzo-flavone-treated rats. The cellular DNA and the exogenously added DNA were separately isolated, hydrolyzed and chromatographed on a Sephadex LH-20 column. The extracellular DNA yielded 3 peaks of radioactivity in the chromatographic eluate. The cellular DNA contained an additional peak suggesting the formation of a DNA adduct from a metabolite that does not leave the cell.

7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide↗
PubMed1987

A time-course investigation of vitamin A levels and drug metabolizing enzyme activities in rats following a single treatment with prototypic polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT.

Xenobiotics previously characterized as selective inducers of drug-metabolizing enzymes were chosen to probe possible relationships between enzyme induction and vitamin A metabolism. Liver, kidney and serum retinol and retinyl palmitate levels were investigated in male Sprague--Dawley rats receiving a single i.p. injection of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 2,2',5,5'-tetrachlorobiphenyl, 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl or 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (300 mumol/kg) or 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)-ethane (DDT) (150 mumol/kg). While 2,2',5,5'-tetrachlorobiphenyl, a weak or non-inducer, and 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexaclorobiphenyl and DDT, phenobarbital-type inducers of cytochrome P-450, led to no reduction in total vitamin A content of liver or kidney during the 7 day time-course, administration of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl, a toxic PCB and a potent 3-methylcholanthrene-type inducer of cytochrome P-450, resulted in progressively lowered liver vitamin A levels (to 40% of control values by day 7). During this time, kidney total vitamin A content increased 3-fold. The increase in kidney vitamin A (due primarily to increased retinol content) was only equal to 1/40 of total vitamin A which had disappeared from the liver. Although 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl specifically induced certain drug-metabolizing enzyme activities, e.g. aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (toward 4-nitrophenol), no highly significant correlations were found among the vitamin A levels and drug-metabolizing enzyme activities in the liver (aminopyrine N-demethylase, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, aldrin epoxidase, microsomal epoxide hydrolase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase toward 4-nitrophenol, glutathione transferase toward 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and cytochrome P-450 content) as determined by multiple linear regression analysis.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Metabolic activation to a mutagen of 3-hydroxy-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene, a secondary metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene.

3-Hydroxy-trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene (3-OH-BP-7,8-diol) was isolated from arylsulfatase/beta-glucuronidase-treated bile of rats to which 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OH-BP) has been administered. This triol was investigated for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium (reversion to histidine prototrophy of strains TA 97, TA 98, TA 100 and TA 1537) and in V79 Chinese hamster cells (acquisition of resistance to 6-thioguanine). When no exogenous metabolizing system was added the triol was inactive, while 3-OH-BP showed weak mutagenic effects with all four bacterial strains. In the presence of NADPH-fortified postmitochondrial supernatant fraction (S9 mix) of liver homogenate from Aroclor 1254-treated rats, the mutagenicity of 3-OH-BP was potentiated, and the triol was activated to a mutagen(s). In the presence of S9 mix, the triol was 5-18 times more mutagenic than 3-OH-BP in strains TA 97, TA 100 and TA 1537, but both compounds showed similar mutagenic potencies with strain TA 98. These strain differences strongly suggest that the mutagenicity of 3-OH-BP in the S9 mix-mediated test was not exclusively due to metabolites of 3-OH-BP-7,8-diol. Trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BP-7,8-diol), like the triol, showed mutagenic effects only in the presence of S9 mix. Strain TA 1537 was reverted by the triol but not by the diol. In the other bacterial strains the diol was more mutagenic than the triol, the difference in potency being largest in strain TA 100 (2.5- to 10-fold, depending on the experimental conditions). In V79 cells, the diol was a potent mutagen, while the triol showed only very weak mutagenic effects. However the triol was more cytotoxic than the diol. High cytotoxicity of the triol was observed even in the absence of S9 mix. The results of the present study demonstrate that metabolites of 3-OH-BP-7,8-diol are biologically-active derivatives of benzo[a]pyrene. Comparison of the mutagenic effectiveness in different bacterial strains also reveals that metabolites of 3-OH-BP-7,8-diol and of BP-7,8-diol substantially differ in the kind of genetic alterations they evoke.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Immunohistochemically demonstrated altered expression of cytochrome P-450 molecular forms and epoxide hydrolase in N-ethyl-N-hydroxyethylnitrosamine-induced rat kidney and liver lesions.

A comparison of N-ethyl-N-hydroxyethylnistrosamine (EHEN)-induced preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in the rat liver and kidney was made with respect to the expression of different drug metabolizing enzymes. Four cytochrome P-450 species (cyt. P-450 UT50, PB3a, MC1 and MC2) and microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEHb) were investigated along with two glutathione S-transferase species (GST-P and A forms) earlier shown to be elevated in putative preneoplastic lesions in the liver and kidney, respectively. In contrast to the liver lesions, which showed clear decrease in all forms of cyt. P-450s and increase of mEHb, elevated levels of cyt. P-450 PB3a and, to a lesser extent, the other P-450 forms and early elevation to late decrease in mEHb characterized the renal tubular lesions. Thus opposite shift in enzyme phenotype was observed in carcinogen-induced focal lesions of the two organs. Variation in binding levels in the different nephron segments and zones of the liver acinus indicated physiological specialization with regard to the enzymes investigated and suggested that the altered phenotype of preneoplastic populations might be of adaptive significance.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Altered drug metabolizing potential of acinar cell lesions induced in rat pancreas by hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide.

Foci of atypical acinar cells observed in male rats 1 year after a single injection of hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (HAQO) were assessed immunohistochemically for altered expression of a number of enzyme forms considered to play important roles in drug metabolism. The pancreatic lesions, classified as of either basophilic or eosinophilic type on histological appearance, demonstrated distinctive patterns of altered enzyme phenotype. On the one hand, the basophilic foci composed of enlarged cells/nuclei with very prominent nucleoli were characterized by increase in GST-P, G6PD and P450 PB1 and MC2 forms. The eosinophilic type, in contrast, comprised smaller cells demonstrating elevated P450 MC1 and PB1 but not MC2, normal G6PD and strong GST-P binding limited only to a proportion of the nuclei. Both shared decreased GGT and almost total lack of GST-B positive connective tissue and ductular elements. Apparent islet cell lesions and normal islet tissue were characterized by a distinct enzyme phenotype strongly positive for all P450 species investigated. The results indicate that HAQO-induced putative preneoplastic pancreatic lesions, like equivalent carcinogen associated with focal populations in liver, kidney and ductular pancreas, demonstrate a non-random altered expression of specific drug metabolizing enzyme species.

4-Hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide↗
PubMed1987

Characterization of an epithelial, nearly diploid liver cell strain, from Chinese hamster, able to activate promutagens.

Epithelial liver cells of the Chinese hamster (CHEL cells) were propagated in culture for 35 passages. At favourable cell densities, the population doubling time in normal medium, was 20 h. L-Tyrosine amino transferase activity was retained at a measurable level, but its enhancement by dexamethasone was detected solely in cells of early passages. Pyruvate kinase was strongly activated by fructose-1,6-biphosphate at low substrate concentrations. These enzymatic properties suggest that the CHEL cells are derived from a sub-population of parenchymal hepatocytes or from cells closely related to parenchymal hepatocytes. With a lag period of a few hours, CHEL cultures metabolized benzo[a]pyrene. In cell homogenates the various monooxygenase activities investigated were below the detection limits. However, other xenobiotic-metabolizing activities, such as cytochrome P-450 reductase, glutathione transferase and UDP-glucuronosyl-transferase were high, with levels comparable to those observed in freshly isolated rat parenchymal cells. Epoxide hydrolase activity was also detected, but was lower than in the liver. The CHEL cells were able to activate benzo[a]pyrene, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and aflatoxin B1 to mutagens, as shown in a co-culture assay with V79 cells, in which acquisition of resistance to 6-thioguanine was studied. At early passages, the CHEL cells had a near diploid set of chromosomes. Then, gradually the frequency of cells with slight changes in the number of chromosomes and the frequency of tetraploids were increased. During the observation period (up to passage 20) the modal number of chromosomes shifted from 22 to 23. No gross morphological changes in the cultures were noticed during the 20 passages.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1987

Regioselectivity of rat liver microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities toward phenols of benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(a,h)anthracene.

Inducibility of rat liver microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was investigated with regard to the substrate structure using 3-, 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene, all seven phenols of dibenz(a,h)anthracene, 3-hydroxybenz(a)anthracene, and 3-hydroxyfluoranthene as substrates. Glucuronide formation of the majority of the planar phenols was preferentially inducible by 3-methylcholanthrene (4- to 8-fold, group 1). However, glucuronidation of 8-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene, 3-hydroxybenz(a)anthracene, and 3-hydroxydibenz(a,h)anthracene was markedly inducible by phenobarbital (3- to 8-fold, group 2). Glucuronidation of 9-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene and 3-hydroxyfluoranthene was only moderately induced by the two inducers (less than 2-fold, group 3). Glucuronidation was also determined with purified phenol UDP-glucuronosyltransferase from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats. A close correlation (r = 0.95) was observed between purification factors (ratio of enzyme activities in purified enzyme and microsomes) and induction factors (ratio of microsomal enzyme activities from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats and untreated controls). Interestingly, differences in size and shape of group 1 and 2 substrates could be recognized. Group 1 substrates were shorter (less than 1.3 nm) and broader (greater than 1.1 nm) than group 2 substrates when viewed from the hydroxy group, along the axis of the C-O bond, to the plane of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, suggesting a distinct geometry of the binding site of the 3-methylcholanthrene-inducible phenol UDP-glucuronosyltransferase.

Animals↗