Carcinogens 3,4-Benzpyrene and 3-Methylcholanthrene: Induction of Mitochondrial Oxidative Enzymes
Nicholas Zenker 1,
Jacob S. Hanker 2,
Yoshihisa Morizono 2,
Chandicharan Deb 2, and
Arnold M. Seligman 2
1 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore
2 Departments of Surgery, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Sections of liver from rats injected with 3,4-benzpyrene and 3-methylcholanthrene, when incubated in mediums specific for the histochemical demonstration of mitochondrial oxidative enzymes, show greater activity of several of these enzymes than do sections from control rats. This observation was confirmed by comparison of the staining of mitochondria isolated from the control and from "induced" rats. The fact that an inhibitor of protein synthesis, actinomycin D, effectively diminished the stimulation provided evidence that the stimulation of activity is due to an increase in enzyme synthesis, generally called induction.
