Pulmonary drug-metabolizing enzyme in alveolar macrophages in relation to cigarette smoking.

We measured the aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity in alveolar macrophages (AMs) and the AHH inducibility in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) of 56 subjects with and without lung cancer. There were no differences in the AHH inducibility in PBLs whether or not the host had lung cancer, regardless of a smoking history. The AHH activity in AMs in the current smoker group was significantly higher than in the non-smoker group. The AHH activity in AMs in the lung cancer group was higher than that in the non-lung cancer group, and the central-type group was significantly higher than the peripheral-type group. These results suggest that the AHH activity in AMs is associated with the development of lung cancer and a history of cigarette smoking.