Fluorimetric detection of aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in human blood, saliva, and organ biopsies and kinetic differentiation between class I and class III isozymes.

Two highly fluorogenic aldehydes, 7-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde (MONAL-71) and 6-methoxy-2-naphthaldehyde (MONAL-62), were examined as indicators of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity in human tissue homogenates and accessible body fluids. Both compounds were previously found to be excellent substrates for the ALDH from erythrocytes and for the purified class I (cytosolic) ALDH from human liver. By contrast, only MONAL-62, but not the isomeric MONAL-71, was oxidized by class III ALDH present in human saliva. The apparent Km for the former compound reacting with salvia ALDH is 0.24 microM, with the reaction rate (Vmax) close to that of benzaldehyde oxidation. There is also a fully competitive inhibition of the fluorogenic oxidation of the MONAL-62 by benzaldehyde. Both NAD+ and NADP+ can be used as oxidants in this reaction, with comparable rates, a fact previously reported for the human class III aldehyde dehydrogenase. In human liver homogenate (cytosolic + microsomal fraction), the ALDH activity is easily detectable using either MONAL-71 or MONAL-62, with specific activities of approximately 2.5 and 3.2 units per gram of protein, respectively. The low apparent Km values, 0.85 and < 0.03 microM, respectively, together with the inhibition profile by propionic aldehyde (ID50 in the micromolar range) indicate that both compounds are oxidized primarily by the class I ALDH, further confirmed by low activity (0.4 U/g) with NADP+ as oxidant. By contrast, in human stomach, containing mostly class III ALDH, the activity measured with MONAL-71, 0.4 U/g, is much lower than that with MONAL-62 (5.1 U/g with NAD+ and 3.1 U/g with NADP+), the latter being virtually insensitive to 1 mM propionic aldehyde. Hence, in a stomach homogenate, class I and class III ALDH activities can be measured selectively with the two fluorogenic substrates described. In all experiments, the activity of aldehyde oxidase was at least 10-fold lower than that of the ALDH. Addition of 5 mM 4-methylpyrazole, a known inhibitor of the alcohol dehydrogenase, did not change the resultant ALDH activities by more than 10%, indicating lack of interference by the former enzyme. A preliminary screening of two liver tumour samples showed diminished class I ALDH activities (0.7 and 0.03 U/g), but no evidence for class III ALDH induction. The above observations are discussed in relation to the mechanism of detoxication of cyclophosphamide.