Sex-dependent induction of hepatic enzymes for mutagenic activation of a tryptophan pyrolysate component, 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]-indole, by feeding in mice.

Male and female BALB/c X DBA/2 F1 mice were treated with a diet containing 0.02% 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]-indole (Trp P-1), a hepatocarcinogenic tryptophan pyrolysate component, and the capacities of subcellular fractions of the liver to catalyze the mutagenic activation of Trp P-1 and its analogue Trp P-2 (4-demethylated Trp P-1) were examined by the in vitro Salmonella test with strain TA 98. In mice on control diet, both 9000 X g supernatant (S-9) and microsomal fractions from female mice livers displayed only 1.1- to 1.3-fold higher capacities for the mutagenic activation of either Trp P-1 or Trp P-2 than did those from male mice livers. When mice were treated with the Trp P-1 diet for 1 week, the S-9 activity in male mice for the Trp P-1 mutagenesis did not change, but that in females was increased to 2.5-fold of the female control. Treatment of mice with the dietary Trp P-1 for 2 weeks increased the S-9 activities to 2.8-fold in males and 4.9-fold in females of the same sex controls and the increased S-9 activities were not significantly changed by additional Trp P-1 feeding for 2 weeks. Similar changes in the S-9 activity were observed for the Trp P-2 mutagenesis. The overall changes in the S-9 activities induced by feeding Trp P-1 were reflected in the isolated microsomes. However, microsomes derived from the same volume of S-9 used exhibited only about one-half (Trp P-1) or one-third (Trp P-2) of the activity of the respective complete S-9 mixtures. Addition of liver cytosolic fractions (105,000 X g supernatants) from untreated or Trp P-1-treated mice to microsomes resulted in enhanced activities. Cytosols alone did not activate the compounds to mutagens. The microsome-mediated mutagenicity of either Trp P-1 or Trp P-2 was diminished by removal of NADPH from the assay system. It was also inhibited by addition of 7,8-benzoflavone and to a lesser extent by SKF 525A. Enzyme(s) for the mutagenic activation of Trp P-1 was induced by an i.p. injection of 3-methylcholanthrene to mice and to a lesser extent by an injection of phenobarbital, but no sex differences were observed in these enzyme inductions as opposed to the Trp P-1 feeding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)