title: Folate deficiency in the livers of diethylnitrosaminetreated rats.
abstract: The effects of diethylnitrosamine on the metabolism of folic acid and related compounds in rat liver were investigated. The administration, in the drinking water, of diethynitrosamine to rats for 3 weeks led to decreased hepatic levels of folate, S-adenosylmethionine, and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate:homocysteine methyltransferase. Liver methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase levels were unaffected by administration of diethylnitrosamine. The polyglutamate fraction of hepatic folates obtained from rats treated with diethylnitrosamine for 3 weeks prior to injection with [3H]folate contained less radioactivity than did the polyglutamate fraction obtained from the livers of control rats treated with [3H]folate alone. Similarly, the polyglutamate folate fraction of rat livers that were simultaneously perfused with both diethylnitrosamine and [3H]folate contained less label than the polyglutamate fraction of rat livers perfused with [3H]folate only. Livers perfused with [2-14C]histidine and diethylnitrosamine produced more formiminoglutamate and less CO2 than livers treated with [2-14C]histidine only. The changes noted in the hepatic folate metabolism of diethylnitrosamine-treated rats resemble those seen in the livers of methyl-deficient rats.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004052:Diethylnitrosamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005971:Glutamates / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000378:metabolism; D008745:Methylation; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine / Q000378:metabolism; D013763:Tetrahydrofolates / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005971:Glutamates; D009602:Nitrosamines; D013763:Tetrahydrofolates; D004052:Diethylnitrosamine; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine; D008715:Methionine