Comparison of the various forms of glutathione S-transferase with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase as markers of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in rat kidney induced by N-ethyl-N-hydroxyethylnitrosamine.

Alterations in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities and binding of specific antibodies to glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), gamma-GT and the A, B, C, D, and P forms of glutathione S-transferase (GST-A, -B, -C, -D, and -P, respectively) in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions induced by N-ethyl-N-hydroxyethylnitrosamine (EHEN) in the rat kidney were investigated. Morphologically the lesions were of basophilic type and were classified either as altered tubules or adenomas, the latter being further subdivided into microadenomas and adenomas depending on size and the presence of compression. The fact that all lesions demonstrated only weak (or negative) gamma-GT, ALP and GST-B stainings, all of which are normally evident in proximal tubules, and also the occasional finding of cells bearing a periodic acid-Schiff-positive apical brush border within altered tubules strongly positive for GST-A, indicated their histogenesis from the proximal segment of the nephron. Thus a directed shift to a phenotype opposite to that observed in the cells of origin was demonstrated. Comparison of phenotype within the range of EHEN-induced lesions strongly suggested putative preneoplastic character for the altered tubules. Transition to adenomas appeared to be correlated with progressive loss of GST-A and moderate to slight increase of G6PDH.