title: Heme synthesis in normal mouse liver and mouse liver tumors.
abstract: Hepatic cancers from mice and rats demonstrate decreased levels of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the heme synthetic pathway, and increased heme oxygenase, the heme-catabolizing enzyme. These findings suggest that diminution of P-450, b5, and catalase in these lesions may result from a heme supply that is limited by decreased heme synthesis and increased heme catabolism. Heme synthesis was measured in mouse liver tumors (MLT) and adjacent tumor-free lobes (BKG) by administering the radiolabeled heme precursors 55FeCl3 and [2-14C]glycine and subsequently extracting the heme for determination of specific activity. Despite reduced delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase activity in MLT, both tissues incorporated [2-14C]glycine into heme at similar rates. At early time points, heme extracted from MLT contained less 55Fe than that from BKG. This was attributed to the findings that MLT took up 55Fe at a slower rate than BKG and had larger iron stores than BKG. The amount of heme per milligram of protein was also similar in both tissues. These findings militate against the hypothesis that diminished hemoprotein levels in MLT result from limited availability of heme. It is probable, therefore, that decreased hemoprotein levels in hepatic tumors are linked to a general program of dedifferentiation associated with the cancer phenotype. Diminution of hemoprotein in MLT may result in a relatively increased intracellular heme pool. delta-Aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme oxygenase are, respectively, negatively and positively regulated by heme. Thus, their alteration in MLT may be due to the regulatory influences of the heme pool.
authors.affiliation: Section of Experimental Pathology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Stout
authors.forename: F F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002712:Chlorides; D005260:Female; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D005998:Glycine / Q000378:metabolism; D006418:Heme / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007504:Iron Radioisotopes; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002712:Chlorides; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D007504:Iron Radioisotopes; D011166:Porphyrins; D006418:Heme; D005998:Glycine; C024555:ferric chloride