METABOLIC-ACTIVATION OF A CIGARETTE-SMOKE CONDENSATE BY WOODCHUCK LIVER, AS RELATED TO SEX, PREGNANCY, HEPATITIS-VIRUS INFECTION AND PRIMARY HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

The liver S12 fractions from 23 woodchucks were assayed for the abilit y to activate a cigarette smoke condensate to metabolites inducing fra meshift mutations in strain TA98 of S. typhimurium. At equivalent prot ein concentration, all samples activated this complex mixture to a sim ilar extent, without any significant difference related to sex, hepati tis virus (WHV) infection, or primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, unlike aflatoxin B-1, aromatic amines and heterocyclic amines, whose m etabolic activation has been shown to be stimulated by WHV infection i n the same liver samples used in the present study, genotoxic componen ts present in the particulate of mainstream cigarette smoke do not app ear to be more readily biotransformed in vitro by preparations of infe cted hepatocytes. A significant increase of metabolism was however rec orded in a small number of WHV-infected pregnant animals, which deserv es attention in the light of the adverse effects of both hepadnavirus infection and cigarette smoking in pregnancy.