Correlation between lung cancer prevalence and activities of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and glutathione S-transferase in human lung tissues.
The activities of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and glutathione s-transferase (GST) were measured in the lung tissues of lung cancer patients and patients without lung cancer. The results indicate that after controlling for age, sex, smoking, living conditions, occupational exposure, and medication history, the ratio of AHH to GST (AHH/GST) in the lung tissues of cancer patients was significantly higher than that in noncancer patients. This difference might suggest a genetic difference in benzo[a]pyrene (BP) activations between the two groups of patients, but whether there is a casual relation between AHH/GST and lung cancer is still a question. AHH/GST was high in patients who smoked. It is conceivable that smoking might increase the rate of BP activation. There was a positive correlation between AHH activity and the amount the lung cancer patients smoked, but the AHH activity was not affected by smoking in noncancer patients. The AHH activity of lung cancer patients seems more sensitive to induction by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than that of noncancer patients. However, this suggestion should be further verified.
Liu
L
L
Environmental Health Department, Beijing Medical University, China.
Wang
L H
LH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001189:Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000201:enzymology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis
D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; D001189:Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases; D005982:Glutathione Transferase