Hepatic metabolism of doxorubicin in mice and rats.

We have studied the metabolism of doxorubicin in rat and mouse liver, heart and hepatocytes. Doxorubicinol was present in all cases at very low levels and 7-deoxyaglycones were present only in extraphysiological conditions: no aglycones were found either in fresh livers or in hearts of animals treated with the drug, but they were produced in large amounts when the organs were left at room temperature after the death of the animal. Hepatocytes grown in primary cultures or hepatoma cells grown in continuous lines produced no 7-deoxyaglycones. Freshly isolated hepatocytes synthesized small amounts of 7-deoxyaglycones; however, when these hepatocytes were homogenized prior to incubation, high levels of 7-deoxyaglycones were produced. We conclude that 7-deoxyaglycone formation is possible only in injured tissue and is not, therefore, a normal pathway for doxorubicin.