Alterations of pyrimidine and nucleic acid synthesis during adaptive growth of liver induced by nafenopin, a peroxisome proliferator. An in vivo study.

The de novo synthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides in the rat liver after administration of nafenopin (NFP) was studied with the aid of [14C]orotic acid; the utilization of preformed nucleosides (salvage pathways) was followed using the [14C]cytidine and [14C]thymidine. A single dose (400 mg/kg) as well as repeated doses (100 mg/kg/day) of NFP increased the concentration of the cytidine and uridine components of the acid-soluble extract (ASE) of rat liver. Increase in the concentration of the cytidine components preceded the increase in the uridine components. The uptake of [14C]cytidine by the liver of rats that had been given a single dose of NFP was observed 24 h after the administration of the drug and a decrease followed after this period. The specific activity of RNA and DNA cytosine paralleled the changes of the specific activity of ASE. A single dose of NFP had no marked effect on the uptake of [14C]orotic acid. The specific activity of the uridine components of ASE remained unaltered for 2 days. After this period it decreased because of an increase in the amount of the soluble uridine components. A mild drop of the specific activity of cytidine components of ASE occurred on the second day, the total radioactivity of cytidine components increased 24 h after the administration of NFP. The specific activity of DNA pyrimidines was markedly increased 24 h after administration of the drug. On the fourth day the specific activity of DNA cytosine in the experimental group was the same as in the control group, whereas the activity of DNA thymine was lower. Following repeated administration of NFP (100 mg/kg/day) a decreased uptake of [14C]orotic acid was observed; its utilization for the synthesis of the uridine components of ASE, expressed as total radioactivity of soluble uridine components, was continuously suppressed. No changes in the specific activity of cytidine components were observed. The specific activity of DNA cytosine and thymine was distributed unevenly. During later periods of the drug action the specific activity of cytosine increased whereas the activity of thymine was lower. This phenomenon may be accounted for by the formation of a thymidylate precursor, dUMP, directly from uridine phosphates.