Sequential 2-acetylaminofluorene--phenobarbital exposure induces a cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase during rat hepatocarcinogenesis.

A significant change in hepatic aldehyde dehydrogenase activity has been observed in normal Sprague-Dawley rat liver during the promotion phase of hepatocarcinogenesis induced by brief feeding of 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) followed by tumor promotion using dietary phenobarbital (PB) exposure. Animals receiving only 2-AAF or PB do not possess this new aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. The phenotype is characterized by the appearance of a new cytosolic isozyme kinetically, electrophoretically and immunochemically distinct from the normal liver aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes and from aldehyde dehydrogenases inducible in 2-AAF-induced hepatomas. The new isozyme is NAD-dependent, disulfiram-sensitive and cross-reacts with antiserum to a normal liver aldehyde dehydrogenase inducible in several lines of rats by PB. However, the population of animals used in this study has been shown previously to be non-responsive to aldehyde dehydrogenase induction by dietary PB. Since no animals receiving only PB express this new isozyme, the carcinogen must play a significant role in its induction. Moreover, that not all animals receiving carcinogen and promoter possess the phenotype suggests this carcinogen/promoter interaction has a genetic basis.