The metabolic activation of benz[alpha]anthracene in three biological systems.

The 3,4- and 8,9-dihydrodiols of benz[alpha]anthracene (BA) are formed as metabolites of the parent hydrocarbon by rat-liver microsomes, by mouse skin and by hamster embryo cells. In incubations with rat-liver microsomal fractions, only small amounts of the 3,4-dihydrodiol of BA were detected relative to other dihydrodiol metabolites and only small amounts of BA-deoxyribonucleoside adducts derived from the related diol-epoxide, t-3, r-4-dihydroxy-t-1,2-oxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenz[alpha]anthracene (anti-BA-3,4-diol 1,2-oxide), were detected relative to adducts derived from r-8,t-9-dihydroxy-t-10,11-oxy-8,9,10,11-tetrahydrobenz[alpha]anthracene (anti-BA-8,9-diol 10,11-oxide). However, in studies with mouse skin and hamster embryo cells, larger amounts of free 3,4-dihydrodiol were detected and a larger proportion of the hydrocarbon-deoxyribonucleoside adducts resulted from the reaction of anti-BA-3,4-diol 1,2-oxide with DNA.