The continuous kinetic determination of p-nitroanisole O-demethylation in hemoglobin-free perfused rat liver.

P-Nitroanisole O-demethylation by perfused rat liver based on the spectral properties of the product, p-nitrophenolate, was determined continuously. Rates of p-nitrophenol production in this system were sensitive to inhibition by CO. p-Nitrophenolate production by livers of normal animals was linear for up to 30 minutes; however, rates were only linear for 1 to 2 minutes followed by a steady decline in induced (6-fold) livers from phenobarbital-treated rats. Only a small portion (24%) of this steady decline could be accounted for by the formation of conjugation products. Additionally, infusion of p-nitrophenol (14 micronM) was not associated with a decline in rate. The decline in rate in induced livers was reversed by glucose, suggesting that an intimate relationship may exist between drug and carbohydrate metabolism in the intact liver. Alteration in rates of p-nitroanisole metabolism with various inducing agents of the mixed-function oxidation system (phenobarbital; ethanol) produced parallel changes in rates of hepatic lactate production, most likely reflecting the aciton of p-nitrophenol to uncouple oxidative phosphorylation. The data support the hypothesis that the decline in rate in p-nitroanisole O-demethylation in livers from phenobarbital-treated rats is due to reduced availability of NADPH for mixed-function oxidation.