Suppression of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in human primary lung carcinoma x mouse hepatoma somatic cell hybrids.

Variants of the mouse hepatoma cell clone inducible for aryl hydrocarbon (benzo(a)pyrene) hydroxylase (AHH) (EC 1. 14. 14.1) activity and deficient in hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase (EC 2.4.2.8), and human primary lung carcinoma cell clone noninducible for AHH activity and deficient in thymidine kinase (EC 2.7.1.21) were isolated. The variant lines characterized for AHH inducibility and drug resistant phenotype were utilized to study somatic cell hybrids for the expression of AHH induction by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). In two hybrids AHH activity was not expressed. In view of these results we conclude that aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity is suppressed in AHH noninducible human lung carcinoma x AHH inducible mouse hepatoma cell hybrids.