Inhibition of chick embryo hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase by components of xenobiotic-treated chick embryo hepatocytes in culture.

Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROG-D) activity in the 10,000g supernatant of 17-day-old chick embryo liver homogenates was determined by measuring the conversion of pentacarboxylporphyrinogen I to coproporphyrinogen I. The optimum pH of the enzyme was found to be approximately 6.0 and enzyme activity was found to be linear with protein concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 2.0 mg/mL. At a protein concentration of 1.2 mg/mL and pH 6.0, the activity was found to be linear for a reaction time of 50 min and to be approximately 10 pmol/(mg protein.min). This enzyme assay was used to demonstrate that a UROG-D inhibitor, previously reported to accumulate in rodent liver, also accumulates in 3,3'4,4'-tretrachlorobiphenyl (TCBP) and sodium phenobarbital (PB) treated chick embryo hepatocytes in culture. This results accords with the previous demonstration of a TCBP- and PB-induced decrease in UROG-D activity in this system. Uroporphyrin accumulation in chick embryo hepatocyte culture is interpreted as resulting from a combination of two mechanisms, viz., inhibition of UROG-D activity and uroporphyrinogen oxidation to uroporphyrin catalyzed by a cytochrome P-450 isozyme.